Vorik Moves On
by BewilderedFemale
Summary: Takes place after the blood fever episode. Ensign Vorik finds himself unable to get past certain events until he happens upon someone who makes him realize that he is able to move on after all.
1. Chapter 1

**So I've been watching Voyager and am totally enamored with Ensign Vorik… It really is too bad that he didn't get much of a role and he pretty much disappears after the Blood Fever episode  
This is my little spin on "What may have been" Very short but.. had to get it out. Enjoy!**

Ensign Vorik was beside himself even though to the human eye you'd never know it.  
He went about his duties and nothing seemed out of the norm. Nobody looked at him strangely, and there was no whispering or mutterings as he might've expected. It was as if nothing had ever happened and while he was relieved, a part of him was distressed over it.

B'Elanna was pretty much ignoring everyone, mostly Tom Paris which served to just confuse him all the more. He had had his suspicions that she held preference towards him but this wasn't confirmed to him until the 'incident' so why not just confess what they mutually feel and become mates? He did not understand. He didn't understand why he was still paying so much mind to the ordeal and he didn't understand why he simply couldn't move on from the incident. It plagued his mind like a disease and caused him to become a recluse.  
No longer did he participate in ship's activities and recreational amusement as he once did. All he ever seemed to do when he wasn't working was meditate and it was questionable at times whether that served a significant purpose.

It was late in the evening and he had managed to force himself to scarf down a few spoonful's of Neelix's vegetarian casserole. It was not particularly pleasing to his palette but he needed nourishment and looking at his food entailed not having to pay attention to his surroundings.  
That was until he heard the scraping sound of a seat being pulled back, he jerked his head up immediately for in accordance to the proximity of the noise, it was coming from right across him.

It was another Ensign that he recognized from having crossed path's with her in the halls and such but he never paid much attention to her. She was alright on the eyes, she looked to be of Latin descent, she had long dark brown wavy hair, olive skin, and light brown eyes that took on a gold hue when the light hit them at a certain angle.

"Hi!" She said with bright smile that made him want to sneer were he were prone to such expressions.

"Someone sitting here?"

"Yes." He said looking at her in all seriousness. "You are."

She blushed and stuttered slightly, it was very becoming on her complexion he must admit.

"I mean… Nevermind." She said as she picked up her tray and was about to leave.

"You misunderstood my meaning; please sit."

She looked at him cautiously before sitting back down, her smile now one of awkwardness and insecurity, she was quite easy to read as her face held many expressions that were easy to pick up on.

"I'm Ensign Ramirez." She said extending her hand towards him but then she caught herself and pulled back her hand. "Oh that's right. I'm sorry."

The blush on her cheeks all the while becoming more reddened; it was quite intriguing.

"There is no need to apologize; I am.."

"Ensign Vorik." She finished for him. He in turn started to feel the beginnings of discomfort for she was surely going to bring up the occurrences of his private 'event'.

"I've heard much of your work with engineering and have read your thesis on the theory of subspace piping and how it pertains to its effects with gravity shifts."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "indeed?" He replied in a voice that didn't sound like his own.

"Yes!" She said eagerly. "I think it brilliant, so imagine my surprise to see the writer himself sitting here by himself. I really do hope that I wasn't intruding."

"Your arrival is most welcome; I assure you this Ensign Ramirez. Curious I have never seen you in engineering though." His face softened as he began to converse with her in earnest. It was a rather novel experience since he had not really spoken to anyone other than work related events since his unfortunate incident.

"I'm in communications actually but I happened upon it while I was organizing the ships logs. It was in a public folder so I didn't think I'd be prying or reading anything confidential."

"I see." He said in an amused manner.

She smiled shyly at him and then looked past him and her eyes suddenly widened.

"I've lost track of time and have to leave now. It was very nice speaking with your Ensign Vorik; I hope it shall be repeated in the future." He wondered momentarily what her true purpose had been for coming to the mess hall for she had not even touched her food and surely she must've been aware of the time when she first arrived only a few minutes ago.

"I as well Ensign Ramirez. Good Evening to you."

He noticed that her hands slightly shook as she grabbed her tray. He found himself observing her as she walked off and disposed her trash before she left down the hall. She had what humans would term as a "curvy" body yet was petite. Not displeasing to the eye at all.

He looked around and found that no one was looking nor snickering after the ensign had left and allowed himself a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to come the mess hall during mealtimes instead of staying in his quarters after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Decided to make this an ongoing story… **

It had been two days since Vorik had met Ensign Ramirez at the mess hall.  
Out of mild curiosity he had come the day after at around the same time to see if she would be present, but upon finishing his meal and even spending a few extra minutes looking over his PADD; she did not show up.

His shift was almost over this evening, but he still wanted to go over the auxiliary variables and make sure they held equal constraints within the unit vector. Even though B'Elanna was on the other side of the core room, he could still hear her barking orders; it seems she was not having a good day. There was a time when he considered such actions as a passionate display of character, an eagerness to be a good leader, and even though he still held the utmost respect for her; things would never be the same again. He did not know how to react towards this, so he just reverted to suppressing any visual changes and continued to act in his usual manner.  
He guessed that this was partially his fault; his blood fever had caused him to make many decisions that by an earthling's standards was simply 'not done.' He understood it but it didn't make dealing with the woman any easier, she only spoke to him with matters that were in regards to work whereas before she would every now and then delve into conversation that was not specifically work related. He did not know how this should be taken.

Once his shift ended he thought about going straight to his quarters to meditate for he did not wish to particularly be around people today but he did wish to consume nourishment since he had not had anything since earlier that morning.  
Once he entered the mess hall, the first thing he saw was Ensign Ramirez. Her hair was tied back today, she was talking to Neelix and holding something out to him which he took with eager anticipation. He was quite loud so with his hearing he could listen distinctly what he was saying to her:

"Ensign Ramirez you shouldn't have! Tell me, what is the history of this confection that you have made for me?"

"Well.. " She began. He decided that he needed to actually sit down before he started to draw attention to himself just standing in the middle of the room. He sat in a table a few feet away from them.

"I use to make these for a friend who didn't like chocolate." Neelix gave her a shocked look to which she laughed. "I know! Who in their right mind doesn't like chocolate right? But I was able to incorporate the roasted hazelnuts and I just substituted milk chocolate for white. I eat them when I want to relax with a cup of coffee."

"And you made them for me?" He asked still surprised.

"Well sure, you spend so much time and energy cooking things that we enjoy; I just figured that I'd return the favor."

"Oh!" He cried overjoyed. "Come over here and give me a hug!" before she could react, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the ground. She was quite petite so this could be easily done. Her eyes grew wide in shock and she patted his back awkwardly. He could tell that she was not use to being physically touched by others in such a way.

"You must give me the recipe! That way I can share this wonderful confection with others as well!" He said when he finally let go of her.

"Uh.. I'll umm. I'll forward it to you." She said as she was straightening her uniform. Her cheeks had taken on a pink glow that Vorik had come to know that humans usually did when they were embarrassed.

"Ok." Neelix said, his eyes twinkling with delight. He was now leading her towards an empty table. "You go ahead and sit down and I'll bring you whatever you'd like to... Oh! Ensign Vorik! A pleasure to see you here."  
At this Ramirez spun around, her eyes large with shock at seeing him sitting down calmly in a table by himself.

"It is good to see you as well." He replied in his usual manner.

"So what can I get you two?" Neelix asked happily.

Both turned to look at Ramirez who stuttered as she looked at both of them. "I … uhh.. that Oriental style veggie wrap you made for me that one time was very good; I was actually craving it the other day."

Neelix's eyes lit up at her declaration. "Of course! One veggie wrap coming up!" He looked over at Vorik who kept a very cool and calm expression on his face.

"That sounds amendable; I'll have the same."

"Two Oriental style veggie wraps coming up!" Neelix declared loudly as he walked back to the kitchen.  
Ensign Ramirez was still standing awkwardly, Vorik could see when she swallowed hard as if she were nervous.

"Would you care to sit down?" He said to her. He motioned towards the seat across from him and she abruptly turned to look at the seat he was gesturing at.

"Oh! Ok. "

She sat down but her shoulders were slightly hunched, and she seemed to be looking around at everywhere but him. He decided it would be logical to be the one to commence conversation.

"How have you been Ensign?"

"Oh, just fine; how are you faring?"

"I am well. I noticed that Neelix was quite taken with you earlier."

Her cheeks flushed and a smile formed on her face as she looked up at him for the first time since she had sat down, but then quickly lowered her eyes again. "Yes, I uh.. I made him cookies."

Vorik lifted a surprised brow. "He is a cook himself though; would he not be able to make them himself?"

"Well that's true but that's why it was so special to him. Someone other than himself took the time and trouble to make him something special." She looked over at Neelix; he was chopping away, still displaying an eager smile.  
"He's a kind person, very considerate, very sincere when he serves us; I felt motivated to repay his efforts in some small way."

"But it is his duty to cook, this emotional need of yours to try and repay him is unnecessary."

She didn't reply, simply stayed staring at the table as if thinking over what he said.

"I don't see what's wrong with showing that I appreciate his hard work, do you?"

"There is nothing wrong, but it does not change the fact that his serving you; serving everyone is part of the job description. It is to be expected."

She knew she could sit there and debate with him about it. Sure Neelix was required to serve but it wasn't required for him to do it with such eagerness and friendly demeanor, and she very much doubted that it was in his description to occasionally sit down with people and ask how they were doing. It was so easy to talk to him and carry on a conversation about anything, she knew that was not required of him and yet he did it. She then started thinking about the response Vorik had given her; the truth was that she didn't really like the fact that he had pretty much told her that her time and efforts in demonstrating Neelix appreciation was not necessary. Vorik might be extremely attractive, the quiet serious type she so wanted, but she could not deny that his statement did not sit well with her.

She must've been doing her internal thinking for longer than she had thought for he was now looking at her curiously. "Ensign?" He asked.

"So, what do you normally do for recreation Ensign Vorik?" She suddenly asked, wanting to change the subject.

His brows furrowed together as he thought about it. "As of late I meditate, partake of various physical activity modules in the holodeck if time permits. That is the extent of my recreation."

Wow, that sounded so incredibly dull and lonely to her, she swallowed hard again.

"Annnnnnnd here you are." Neelix said as he brought two plates to the table, he then gave her a tall glass filled with red liquid.  
"I remember that you always order Watermelon juice with your meals ensign Ramirez, so I took the liberty of bringing you some."

"That's so sweet Neelix" she said with a bright smile. "I appreciate it greatly."

"No trouble at all, just give a holler if you need anything else."

Vorik took notice that when she talked to Neelix her demeanor and even her range of voice was different. It had a carefree feel , yet when she would turn back to him, she seemed to be defensive. He remembered in first meeting her that she demonstrated being nervous as well and had even left without eating anything.

"So.." She started again, but when she looked up, she saw that his stare was fixated on something else. She turned back to see what had gotten his attention and realized that lieutenant B'Elanna had just walked in. Ramirez quickly lowered her gaze, she could feel her cheeks growing warm again despite herself, she realized that the last thing she wanted to do right now was eat for more than anything she wanted to get away. This had been a mistake, she was foolish in thinking she could establish anything with him, and judging from the way he had been trailing B'Elanna with his eyes; the rumors about him actually being very much attracted to her were true; she could never compete with her for her personality was the complete opposite of hers. She was a shy quiet type, while B'Elanna was bold and in your face; not to mention extremely attractive.

"I have to go." She said as she suddenly shot up from her seat.

"But you have not eaten the food Neelix prepared. If I recall the last time we met in the mess hall; you did not eat as well; why come at all?"

Her facial expression changed drastically and he understood that he must've said something that she disliked for she grabbed her plate and her juice before stating: "I ask myself that question as well; good evening Ensign."

He slightly dropped his head and he sighed loudly. These terran females; who could understand them?

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Did you give Neelix the cookies?"

"Yes" Ramirez grumbled.

"Did you see Vorky-poo?"

Ramirez rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I think this was a mistake; I knew from the beginning but you insisted."

"Hey! You need a man, and I know you think he's hot besides; he totally seems like your type."

Ramirez turned around to look at her friend, Lira Citel from Bajor. She also worked in communications and their friendship just sort of flourished naturally.

"He doesn't even know I'm alive Lira. He saw when I gave neelix the cookies and he pretty much told me that my giving it to him was illogical and unnecessary."

"Wow, that's rude" Lira said with distate.

"And then! Guess who happens to walk in?"

Lira looked around, totally clueless before guessing: "Umm.. Tuvok?"

Ramirez turned around and said harshly "B'Elanna Torres."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh, was he like gaga for her or something?"

"You know Vulcan's, he kept a cool demeanor but he still couldn't take his eyes off of her."

Lira put her hand over Ramirez' shoulder. "I'm sorry, I just thought…"

"It's ok, at least I tried right? Which is a lot considering how damn shy I am."

"Exactly, and any man who can't see how wonderful you are is a fool!"

"Right." Ramirez grumbled dryly.

"Listen, I've got some time; how bout we go to the holodecks hmmm? Blow off some steam."

Ramirez seemed to think about this before she slowly lifted her head at Lira. "Dance duel? First one to score 2,000 points wins?"

"You got it!" Lira said as she linked her arms with hers. "By the time we're done; you'll have forgotten all about.. what's his face!"

OoOoOoOoOoO

Suddenly, eating did not seem an appetizing option. B'Elanna had chosen to sit two tables away from him and shortly after; Tom Paris arrived and was now trying to talk to her. Did the terran ever know when to stop?

He looked up towards Neelix and saw that he was now conversing with someone who seemed upset. Vorik himself did not recognize the young man but he watched as he slowly nodded at what Neelix was telling him, and then suddenly the man looked up with a small smile on his face, and he could see the distinct wording coming from his mouth as he said: "Thank You Neelix; I feel better."

This got Vorik thinking, maybe what Ensign Ramirez had done earlier held merit. He had to remember that humans were motivated by emotion, not logic. It was common for Neelix to go out of his way to make everyone 'feel good' and he knew that humans felt the need to return such sentiments in order to demonstrate appreciation, why had it not made sense to him earlier?  
He began to see how this must've made Ensign Ramirez think of him.

In all honesty, it should not matter to him one way or the other what she thought of him. He did not have to work directly with her, and therefore had no obligation towards her and yet it sat unwell with him for their last meeting to have ended the way it did.

Perhaps he could find her later and express his recent findings on the matter to her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Video Game mentioned in this Chapter is taken from: "Zelda, Ocarina Of Time"  
I own nothing.**

Five days had gone by since the mess hall incident with Ensign Ramirez and each time that Vorik went in for evening meals; he was unable to find her there.  
Neelix came over and sat across from him without even asking as was his custom. "So how are you doing today Ensign Vorik?"

"I am well. Your meal for this evening was particularly agreeable this evening."

"Oh I'm glad!" Neelix said with a glimmer in his eye. "You noticed that I snuck in dessert for you."

"Yes; I normally do not consume sweets, but this was quite pleasing; your original recipe?"

"Oh no, I can't take credit for that; it was given to me as a gift by Ensign Ramirez. They were so good though I had to share them with everyone else so I asked and was given permission by her to make them for everyone."

Vorik's exterior remained calm and collected but a red flag went up in his mind at the mention of Ramirez.

"Speaking of Ensign Ramirez, have you happened to see her lately?" He asked smoothly.

"Sure; she comes in here every day, usually with that Bajoran friend of hers, Ensign Citel." For some reason, this news sat unwell with Vorik. One could speculate that she had purposely changed her usual hours of consumption in an effort to avoid him. It was not logical, as Vulcans did no such thing but this was a terran he was dealing with.

"That's right! She was here with you the other day!" Neelix exclaimed. "Did you want me to tell her that you're looking for her?"

"That will not be necessary." Vorik replied immediately. Neelix gave him a puzzled look but saw that Vorik would not elaborate so he merely shrugged. "As you wish." He was about to get up and walk away when Vorik suddenly spoke up. "Mr. Neelix."

"Yes Ensign?"

"Could you tell me; what time does Ensign Ramirez usually come in?"

"Let's see... Uh.. I'd say she's been coming in the last couple of days at around 1800 hours or so, sometimes earlier." Neelix gave him a coy smile and leaned forward and whispered. "I don't mean to pry but are you sure you don't want me to relay some sort of message to her? Did you have a disagreement or something? Ensign Ramirez wears her heart on her sleeves sometimes so if you're too blunt with her she's likely to take it personal."

Vorik lifted a confused brow. "How does one wear their heart on their sleeve? I do not understand."

"It is a human term that means that she is more likely to be hurt or affected than others because she does not hide her emotions. I personally find it to be a rather refreshing trait for I always know where I stand with her."

Vorik gave him a nod. "Thank you for that education."

Neelix smiled before getting back up. "Anytime."

Vorik looked at his PADD and saw that it was just past 1900 hours, this was his usual meal time. She had been coming in earlier and having just received new information from Neelix, it was safe to assume that she was doing this on purpose. Trouble was that the earliest he ever ended his shift in engineering was at exactly 1800 hours, it would be difficult to make it on time, especially since there were times where he had to do double shifts or stay late.

After finishing his meal, he was walking towards his quarters; meditation sounded amendable to him, but as he got on the turbo lift and was about to give it orders to his destination; he hesitated momentarily before asking: "Computer, what is the location of Ensign Ramirez?"

"Ensign Ramirez is in Holodeck 13b"

"Computer, how many people are currently in holodeck 13b?"

"One person."

In the midst of trying to decide what to do, the computer interrupted his thoughts. "Please state your destination."

"Level 1" He finally said. It was better to resolve things sooner better than later.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Ramirez was taking aim of a villain with her bow and arrow.

She crept up quietly along the thickets of the bushes and hid behind a large tree when she saw that she had the perfect shot and let go. She heard the swift shot of the arrow flying through the air and successfully hit her target. The wolf-like creature stilled before it fell over and disappeared in a purple vapor.  
She smiled up happily as she made her way to where the creature was and picked up a small bottle of liquid it had left behind when she heard the computer chime: "Christina has gained the life potion."  
Suddenly she heard the distinct sound of footsteps coming up behind her. This time she pulled out her sword and quickly hid behind one of the bushes.  
She heard the steps nearing but couldn't make out what it was; a surprise attack was in order.

When she was able to detect that the enemy was exactly ten feet away from her, she jumped out, sword in hand; a vicious and very determined scowl upon her features. She yelled out with all her might: "Face me, and fight!"

"I fear I am ill equipped to do so at present."

Her face changed drastically from the previous tenacious glare to one of shock; he noted that her skin had gone slightly pink and was now pale.

"Ensign Vorik.." She said as she suddenly lowered her sword.

He nodded and looked her up and down, apparently noting her strange attire; she blushed deeply under his scrutiny, especially when she saw the slight upturn of his mouth; she didn't know that Vulcans could smile!

She looked at herself and realized how odd she must look for she was wearing the traditional Kokiri outfit that was customary in the Zelda series. Complete with white leggings and undershirt, a green tunic, green kokiri hat, brown arm gauntlets, brown knee high boots, and a special gold tone belt she used for the scabbard of the master sword she currently had in her hand.

"If I may ask; who are you supposed to be?"

"I uhh... err... I'm Link from the Zelda series."

He raised a questioning brow as he held his hands behind his back. "What is the Zelda series."

"It's an old Earth video game."

He could hear the odd music playing in the background. It sounded like rhythmic drums and chanting; the occasional sound of animals in the background gave the impression that they were in a dangerous place.

"Very intriguing, and what is the purpose of this game?"

"Link is sent out on a quest to save the village of Hyrule from certain destruction. I must complete four temples and defeat the villains who oppress those who bring about peace."

"And what must you do at present?"

She looked at him and noticed that he really did seem intrigued, she noted how he slightly rocked back and forth on his heels as he eagerly asked questions.. well; as eager as a Vulcan could get at any rate.

"I have made it to the entrance of the first temple but the doors are locked; I'm currently trying to access a way to enter it. She looked towards her right and began walking that way. "If you'd like to follow me, I can show you the temple." He did without question, and it wasn't long before they were standing before an enormous stone building that appeared ancient and worn from time. There were vines all over it, and monstrous looking spiders making their webs in certain areas. He could see that she had taken down the vines of the entrance so all that remained were the large doors locked with a giant padlock.

"See; I've been trying to..." She stopped abruptly as she was looking off to the left; something had obviously gotten her attention. "Climbing vines." She said before she took off running towards the left of the building. She looked up and saw that the vines led towards an opening, but right in the middle of her path was one of the enormous spiders spinning around as it made a web.

Vorik was soon standing next to her, observing the giant spider as well. "You have to climb all that?"

"Yes." She said as she took out her bow and arrow. She took aim and shot the spider right in its center where it cried out in pain before landing in front of them with a loud 'thud' It squirmed around frantically but Ramirez quickly pulled out another arrow and shot it again. This time it disappeared leaving a green vapor behind.

"Christina has gained entry to the secret opening." The computer chimed again.

"Who is Christina?" He asked her.

She laughed, her cheeks slightly flushing. "I am. My first name is Christina." She looked up at him and gave him a warm smile before looking down abruptly again; she could feel her cheeks grow hot. "Oh; I'm sorry, did you need something? I got so caught up in the game that I didn't even think to ask why you had come."

"Yes; I can explain, but first let me ask; are you being timed at present?"

"Yes; I am."

"I see. Can there be more than one participant in this game?"

"Up to four people."

"I think it would be to your advantage if I assisted you for I have much rock climbing experience. I spent many a Summer's on Vulcan exploring the Osana Caverns, and am skilled in this activity."

She stayed staring at him as if in shock, she opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out at first. She attempted again and this time replied: "Computer; please change Ensign Vorick to appropriate Zelda attire."  
In a matter of seconds, Vorik was now adorned with clothing similar to hers. One look and she had burst into a fit of giggles. He watched as her face turned red and tears started streaming down her eyes.  
He cleared his throat loudly to get her attention as he stood awkwardly with his hands behind his back.

"I'm sorry; it's just that, you look so endearing."

He lifted a brow at her and replied: "Touche."

She forced herself to stop laughing and grabbed the vines of the wall, preparing to hoist herself up. "Alright Ensign; let's win this thing!"

**If you want to have an idea of what Vorik looks like; google "Link from Zelda" and look at the images, then picture Vorik wearing the same outfit... yeah...**


	4. Chapter 4

Despite Christina having gotten a head start on climbing the vines, it wasn't long before Vorik was well past her. She chuckled to herself as she looked up and saw that he had already reached the top and was now looking down towards her.

"Show off" She grumbled.

He arched his brow. "I beg to differ for I can climb at faster rates than that."

She was finally reaching the top when he held out his hand to her, she was a bit surprised but took it regardless. She couldn't feel his skin since both of them were wearing gauntlets, but she could still feel his warmth. He pulled her up easily, and again she was taken aback by the strength he possessed; the man was a machine.

They stood before a long dark hall; the sound of creatures could be distinctly heard so Christina immediately pulled out her sword and began stepping forward cautiously.

"Perhaps I should go first."

Vorik said as he began walking ahead of her.

"It's not the first time I've played this game; I can handle it."

Still; he went on ahead where they ultimately ended up in an open room with a single torch that was lit in the very center, but surrounding the lit torch were three others that remained unlit. There were giant sized bats in the corners of the room; their red eyes beadily looked towards them.  
"Will they harm us?" He inquired.

"They absolutely will if you get too close to them, but one swing of your sword and they will vaporize."

"What is it that we're looking for precisely?"

"The key." She said as she bent down to pick up a rather large, dried up tree branch.

"But there is nothing here other than these torches and bats."

She smiled at him as she carried the large dried up stick with her. "And that's where you put your brilliant problem solving skills to good use in this game."  
She walked over to the lit torch and placed the dried up branch over it, carefully rotating it so that when she pulled the branch away from the flame, it crackled and sizzled with flame of its own. She quickly lit the three unlit torches and the room seemed to spring to life in that instant. There was a musical chime and suddenly a large golden treasure box began to appear right before their eyes. Christina smiled smugly at Vorik who merely lifted a brow at her direction; she bent down and carefully stood out of the way as she opened the box.

"Why do you open it in such a manner?"

"Because, you never really know what's inside of these things, it's good to be cautious at all times."

He nodded. "Sound advice."

The treasure box made a loud and rusty creak before it completely swung open, revealing to them a large silver key. She picked it up and placed it within a pouch she kept in her kokiri tunic pocket.

"Have you played this particular module before? I see that you know your way around well."

"No, I always do different ones, never the same or else where would the challenge be? But I am familiar with how the Zelda series works and that's why I can guess many things." She began walking back towards the direction in which they came, and he followed suit. "Like when we get ready to climb back down, you can be assured that the spider will be back spinning its' web even though we had already destroyed it." And sure as she had said, when they peered over the ledge to see the vines, there was the spider, spinning around and making its web.

Christina reached back to pull out her bow and arrow and she stopped abruptly. "Damn, I'm out of arrows."

"Allow me" Vorik replied as he pulled his out and shot the spider. "You have good form." Christina said with a smile.  
"Archery is another activity I am well versed with." He began to observe the bow in his hands before looking back at her. "I must admit that it has been a long time since I have done this. This is an excellent form of training; I must commend you Ensign."

"I think we are past formalities considering we're wearing these goofy outfits; You can call me Christina." She said as she sat on the ledge and then turned around to start climbing back down."

He lifted a brow before he did the same.

They were back at the entrance of the temple, she looked over at Vorik cautiously as she turned the key, and smiled when she heard it click open. She hastily removed the padlock and pushed herself against the door with all her strength. It creaked loudly, the sound echoing within the temple itself. She was about to step inside when she caught herself. "Wait, I need arrows."

She ran back outside and walked over to a patch of grass and started swinging away.  
"How is cutting grass going to help you find arrows?" He asked with amusement, and as if answering his very question, a bundle of arrows appeared from where the grass had been, and something else; a beautiful emerald jar. She picked up the jar and tossed it over to him.  
"You drink that when you're out of energy."

He looked at the jar and then back at her. "So, there are items hidden in the grass?"

"Sometimes yes, sometimes there are villains so you have to be careful." She untied the bundle of arrows and put them away before making her way to the entrance. She peered inside carefully before stepping forward. As soon as both her feet hit what she thought was solid ground, the floor began to give away.

"Ensign! Look out!" Vorik yelled out to her.  
Having fast reflexes, she jumped at the first thing she saw which was a vine that hung nearby. She wrapped her arms tightly around the vine and began swinging herself back and forth.

"Maybe you should cease such movements, the vine might break." Vorik warned as he watched her.

"What would be my other alternative? I'm currently trying to swing high enough so I can jump and land on the other platform."

She looked over at him and smiled. "You have it much easier apparently."  
He looked around and couldn't see a way down without having to fall several feet down. "The vines against the wall." She said as she pointed towards the bottom of where he stood, but he did not budge.

"I will not climb down until I see that you have successfully made it to the platform."

"Fine have it your way." She said as she began to swing herself again.  
The woman was brave; he had to give her that. He knew not many people that would be swinging on a questionable vine suspended in what looked to be several hundred feet up in the air even with the knowledge that it's just a computer simulation. She was swinging high up now and once she was up at a good altitude she let go of the vine and landed abruptly on the hard concrete. The sound that her landing had produced alarmed him greatly; especially when he saw that she was not moving.

"Ensign?"

No response.

"Christina?" He said with more urgency.

This time he saw her move and ultimately pull herself up. The side of her face in which she had landed was covered with dirt but she still had a smile on her face. "See, it wasn't so hard to say my name now, was it?"

"Are you injured?"

"I'm fine." She said as she began to grab the vines that were attached to the pavement she was on. "I'm going to climb down now; see you down there, and remember; creatures might be lurking so as soon as you land on solid ground, be on the look out." Then she was gone. Disappeared within the darkness of the temple. He tried to look for her, craning his neck to the side of where she had stood previously.

"Why can't I see you?" He called out, hearing the sound of his own voice echo back to him.

She didn't respond right away and again he became concerned before he heard: "You're still up there?"

He sighed loudly before he began his descent down the vines; this was indeed a most vigorous workout, there was no possible way that she thought she would be able to conclude all four temples in one session.  
"Are you climbing down now?"

He heard the echo of her voice call to him.

"I am. I have a query."

"What?"

"How long do you estimate it will take you to finish this entire module?"

"If I do two hours every day, it should take me about two weeks; why? Are you going to back out?"

"Negative. If you will permit me; I wish to continue with the module with you as well."

There was silence for a while but then he finally heard her echo back.

"Good; although we haven't fought the boss of this temple yet. After you see what we're up against, you might reconsider."

"I am a man of my word."

He was close to the bottom, and apparently she had already reached the bottom for he heard the clank of her gear followed by the loud screeching of something else. He made haste and once he saw he was only a few feet from the bottom, he let go and landed with exact precision. He ran towards where the sounds were coming from and saw that she was sword fighting with a giant lizard, a lizard that had obviously not realized that he was there so he took that opportunity to pull out his bow and arrow and shot it directly in its center. When the lizard stilled, Christina plunged her sword forward; giving it the final blow before it disappeared in a blue vapor. There was a loud clank, and Vorik looked down to see that it had left behind a sizable shield and a couple of round pellets.

Christina came over and picked up the pellets and pocketed them. She looked up at his questionable expression and explained: "Deku nuts, they stun the enemy." She then picked up the shield, looking it over before she handed it to him. "This will be useful once we delve further into the temple."

"But you do not have one."

"That's ok." She said as she began to walk forward. He contemplated her for a moment before he observed his surroundings. The place was filled with vines, it had a dank, there was a musky smell and everything was very dark; he could hardly make out her appearance.

"Five minutes before end of module session." The computer announced.

"Really?" Christina exclaimed. "It feels like we're just getting started! They walked a few feet ahead and the room began to have better illumination. He could see the source of the light coming from more of those torches and in the very center of the room was a large body of water. He looked up above and noticed that there were several staircases, but how they would reach them he did not know for he did not see any vines they could climb that would directly connect them.

"Shall we end it here for now?" He asked as he turned to her, but as he spun around, he saw that she had walked over and was peering over the edge of the body of water, she looked as if she was about to fall in.

"There's some kind of switch down there!" She declared excitedly. "Now we have an idea what we have to do next time."

She smiled as she walked over to him. "You did great! Thank you for joining me."  
He nodded. "Thank you for allowing me to accompany you. What time do you normally start?"

I started today at 1800hours, but I can work around that and make it later, say 1900 hours, does that work for you?"  
He thought about it momentarily but then nodded. "I concur that it does; however if for any reason I should not be able to attend in the foreseeable future; I shall notify you and we can reschedule."

"Perfect!" She exclaimed. There was a pretty sort of glow on her face despite the fact that she was dirty, and her clothes were disheveled. He found her to be quite pleasing indeed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"So are you guys dating now?" Lira asked teasingly.

"I don't think that playing a game together constitutes as dating."

"It might to a Vulcan; their views on courting are far different than what we understand."

Christina rolled her eyes before she peered back over to where Lira was. "I thought Vulcan's didn't court at all."

"Well, he's courting you now."

"It's not courting!"

"Ask him." Lira replied in a mischievous manner.

"Yeah right; I do that and I'll never see him again."

Lira sort of shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think he'd do that. They deal with situations far differently than we would. I do however believe that he would be very blunt with his answer and you might be the one who might never want to see him again."

Christina sighed and walked over to her, she was going to open her mouth to say something but then she let her body slacken in a lazy fashion before placing her hand over her forehead.  
"I need chocolate."

"Hot fudge sundaes?" Lira chimed in happily.

"With extra nuts" Christina added.

"It's time to pay Neelix a visit!" Lira said as she walked ahead with a bounce in her steps.


	5. Chapter 5

**Neelix has been promoted to ship's counselor in this chapter. LOL.. you'll see what I mean.  
**  
"So!" Neelix said as he came around the table and took a seat in between Lira and Christina; both were so into their sundaes that neither looked up.

"Tell me the latest gossip girls! Neelix needs the most recent update!"

"There's nothing to tell though." Christina said casually as she licked some of the hot fudge off her spoon.

"I thought we were friends Christina! I know for a fact you're not being sincere with that statement!" He said as he folded his arms in front of him.

"Oh?" Christina asked with wide eyes. "How would you know that?"

Neelix smirked. "Oh.. let's just say that a certain someone was here earlier asking about you."

"It was a Vulcan wasn't it?" Lira said with an evil grin on her face.

"How uh.. how'd you guess that one?" Neelix said with his eyes wide.

Christina held her spoon in mid-air and looked between Neelix and Lira. "Who was asking for me Neelix?"

"I can't say." Neelix said smugly.

"Who else is it going to be? Lira exclaimed. You can count on one hand the number of Vulcans on this ship and the only one you've been associating with lately is Vorik." At the mention of his name, Christina's cheeks became pink and she nervously continued to eat her ice cream.  
Neelix leaned closer to Lira as he whispered: "She's got it bad doesn't' she?"  
"You've no idea." She whispered back.

"If you're quite done talking about me, maybe we can go back to establishing who was asking for me."

Neelix looked around noting that there were only two other people in the mess hall and they were sitting far from them anyway.  
"Fine, but I didn't say anything; got it?"

"Lips are sealed." Christina replied.

"Yeah, spill the beans Neelix." He chuckled at her response before leaning forward and whispering: "It was Ensign Vorik, and he wanted to know what time you usually come in for meals Christina."

There was a loud gasp and Lira had a smile from ear to ear. "I knew it! Before you know it; he'll be declaring that he desires you to be his mate!"

Christina rolled her eyes. "He was probably just looking to fix things after our last conversation, that's probably why he ended up in the holodeck I was in."

"Your last conversation? Holodeck? Neelix gasped in surprise, but then looked around making sure no one had heard before whispering again. "What conversation? and what was Ensign Vorik doing in the holodeck with you?"

"Don't you know? They're partners in a game module Christina likes to play." Lira said with a wide grin.

Neelix seemed to think about it for a moment before replying: "You know, I think it's great that you guys are doing that together. To the untrained eye you would think that he was alright but I know people, and I could tell that he has not been the same since that whole ordeal of his. We all know how private Vulcans are, and what was supposed to be a hush-hush issue just between a few crewmen quickly became a rumor that spread like wild fire."

"There are no such things as secrets on Voyager." Lira replied.

"Not to mention that he never really did hide the fact that he was attracted to B'Elanna. During the ships Luau, he reserved her favorite table with the good view just for the two of them, everyone saw it; I remember seeing it myself! Very uncommon for a Vulcan to do that sort of thing unless there was some ulterior motive. You know how they calculate everything"

Christina looked at the table with a melancholy expression on her face. "Do you think he still has.. you know..."

"It's hard to say." Neelix replied. "They will tell you that feelings are irrelevant but from what I've been able to see with my own eyes; that's not always true. They absolutely do feel, attraction, preference, embarrassment, grief, disdain, all qualities I have personally seen and yet; they are constantly trying to keep said sentiments repressed. Why do you think they spend so much time meditating?" He looked over at Christina and asked: "Did you two quarrel over something before?"

Christina sighed and pushed her empty sundae glass away from her. "It wasn't really a quarrel; it was more like difference of opinion. You remember that day I brought you those cookies? He seemed to think it was unnecessary for me to do that."

"I BEG TO DIFFER!" Neelix began, raising his voice and then hunching his shoulders when he realized it. "Sorry!"

"I tried to explain to him that it was a show of appreciation, for all that you do for us."

"What did he say?"

"I dont' think he understood the sentiment behind it." She said sadly.

"Did you ever consider that maybe he was jealous?" Lira asked.

"He hardly knows me; I think he just didn't see the logic behind it."

"You might be wrong about that" Neelix replied. "Because when he came in here today I snuck him some of those cookies and when I told him that it was the recipe you had given me, his demeanor changed and that's when he asked what time you usually came in for meals. I'm going to be totally and completely honest with you Christina because you're my friend. Both of you are my friends just like so many others on this ship. I think it's great that you're spending time with him; I know him to be a very loyal and trustworthy individual and right now he's at a point where he could use the distraction, and the fact that he's agreed to this game with you I think says a lot. I only worry about you because I don't want you to get hurt should your feelings for him progress and then somehow you come to find out that what he seeks from you is purely friendship. You understand what I'm saying?"

"In other words; don't get your hopes up." She mumbled.

"I'm afraid that's how you will have to tread in this case especially. For all you know a companion is the last thing on his mind after what he deemed was a 'public humiliation'."

"You're right, it's not just about me, he's been through his own personal hell and I have to take that into consideration. I guess I'll just have to take things as they come and have no expectations."

"I think that's the best decision Christina." Neelix said warmly.

"But I'm still going to tease you about him." Lira said with a smirk.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Vorik to Ramirez."

Christina was just coming out of the turbo lift when she heard him calling via her communicator. "Yes? Ramirez here."

"I have arrived at the designated time to continue the module to.."

"Hi!" She said as she suddenly appeared in front of him. His eyes opened a fraction wider and she guessed that how he looked when he was taken by surprise.  
"I was just getting off the turbo lift when you called me."

"I see." He said as he looked her over. She had her hair braided today. It was held back by a yellow and black colored ribbon.

"How has your day been today?" She asked warmly. Her smile eased him some what.

"It was rather hectic today in engineering, I welcome today's activity."

"Great, let's get started then shall we?"  
She walked over to the console and gave the computer instructions. "Computer set up Zelda program Skyward 36 from last saved point."

The double doors to the holodeck opened and they were once again at their previous location. "You have 1 hour and 57 seconds remaining." The computer announced as they entered, their clothes changed automatically except that this time Christina's outfit was pink rather than green. Vorik raised a questioning brow at her.  
"I uh.. changed the color scheme a little bit." She said as her cheeks took on a familiar blush that matched the color of her outfit, he would never openly admit that he was becoming rather fond of it.

Before them was the same body of water, which they walked towards. "If I remember correctly; you said there was a switch at the bottom. "Yes, if you peer over the edge, you will see it too." He did as she said and saw the switch she was talking about.  
"What course of action do we take now?" He asked as he looked at her. She looked back at him with a wry grin. She was now folding her sleeves and taking off her boots.  
"You don't really intend to.."

She flashed him another grin before she dove head first into the water. He peered over the ledge and watched as she swam with fast and proficient movement in the water; she was apparently a very good swimmer. The switch was apparently further down than what visually appeared for exactly 36 seconds had passed and only now did she reach the bottom and pressed the switch for there was a musical chime and a staircase leading up to the second level appeared.

He watched as she swam back and gasped for breath once she came back to the surface. He once again held his hand out to her which she took.  
He pulled her swiftly out of the water and she landed with a squishy thud against him. The contact was quick and Vorik quickly sat up and moved away from her but still; Christina relished those few seconds.

"Are you alright?"

"Never better." She said as she tried to shake some of the access water. She put her boots back on and got up to observe her surroundings. "What happened after I hit the switch?" She asked. He had been observing the way her now wet clothes clung to her curvy body, it was... distracting.

"The staircase to your left appeared." He replied with all the appearance of composure he could muster.

"Ok." She said as she led the way, her boots were now making a squishy sort of noise every time she took a step. They climbed up the stairs and came upon a door. She tried to push it open but it would not give way.

"It's locked, but; I don't see a padlock anywhere.."

"Allow me." He said as he stepped beside her and placed both hands on the door before giving it a hard push, effectively opening the door. Just the idea that he had that kind of strength made her mouth dry and her stomach flutter. She swallowed hard as she watched him straighten his clothes once they were inside, he really did have an amazing body.

That's when it happened; a large grape-fruit sized pellet was thrown forcefully at her direction where it struck her mid-section. She doubled over before falling to the ground.  
Vorik looked up and saw a bushy looking creature shooting the pellets, it was getting ready to shoot another one at her so he instinctively pulled out the shield she had given him the day before and used it to cover them as he scooped her up in his arms and swung her over his shoulder. He ran until he found a small alcove in the corner of the room. All the walls were covered with vines and as he entered the small space, he was confronted with a massive spider that turned red upon seeing him. With the one free hand he had, he pulled out his sword and slashed it in the middle; all the while pulling Christina tightly against him so as not to lose his grip on her.

Once the spider was destroyed, he carefully sat her down. Before he could inquire if she was hurt, she opened her eyes and blinked hard a few times. "I think I saw stars."  
He was about to ask if she was alright but she put her hand over his arm and said: "Thank you; I'll be fine."

"You took a hard hit."

"I assure you I'm fine; it just took me by surprise. It was more shock than anything else that's all." She looked over at him but he didn't seem convinced.  
"This module is programmed to shut off before anything life threatening happens."  
He continued to look at her as if not satisfied with her answer.

"Do you want to see?" She said and didn't wait for an answer before she unbuttoned her tunic and pulled up her undershirt. She did not notice how his ears began to change into a dark shade of green at the tips, and around his cheeks. She exposed only the area where she was hit. It was an angry red color, giving promise to a future purple and blue bruise.

"We can continue, but I strongly suggest you stop by sickbay just to make sure nothing serious has occurred once we have concluded."

"If you insist; I will. So without further delay..." She pulled herself up and walked around in the small space where they both peered out from the alcove. They spotted the bushy creature was shifting around. They both had the same thought in mind for both reached back to pull out their bow and arrows but He was quicker and shot it before she had a chance to.

She raised a brow at his direction: "I see you're getting the hang of it."

"It was not difficult to determine that this was the best course of action." He was about to step out of the alcove when she stopped him. "Wait" He turned to look at her and saw that she was pointing towards the area of floor he was about to step on. He looked at it in turn and noticed that the section he was about to walk on had many cracks.

"I could be wrong but.." She carefully traced back the steps from which they had come from which was securely solid. She took out her bow and arrow and shot the cracked area of the floor which immediately gave way to yet another body of water below.  
He lifted a brow at her direction and carefully walked around the open area before standing next to her again. Christina was looking around the room, trying to find clues as to what to do next.

"What are those plants on the other side of the room?"

She looked over and realized they looked different from any other plant they've come across so far. "Only one way to find out." She said as she walked over to them. They looked like black bowling balls with green grass sprouting at the top. Christina picked one up and it instantly began to tick. Her eyes grew wide and she immediately threw it towards the direction of the opening on the floor. "They're bombs, they activate when you pick them up." And only a few moments later, they heard and felt the explosion beneath them.

"I do not understand why we would need bombs."

He turned to look at her and saw that she was currently checking the walls surrounding them, and then it clicked. Part of the floor had given way, what was to say that the same thing couldn't happen with part of the wall? He pulled out his sword and began tapping the walls. "Oh that's a good idea, I was just checking for cracks." She said as she watched him, not at all surprised at how quickly he was catching on. She pulled out her sword and was about to do the same when he stopped.  
"This part is hollow. It would be logical to assume that if we place one of those bombs here, it would give way to some form of entry."  
"I agree." She said as she was about to walk over to where the bomb plants were, but he caught up with her and said: "I believe it would be better if I handle this current process. Perhaps you can stand on the other side of the room while I activate the bomb and be ready in case we are attacked again.

"Yes, that's an excellent idea."  
She ran to the other side of the room and did just that, she pulled out her bow and arrow, ready to shoot at whatever they came across once the wall crumbled.  
Vorik picked up the bomb and swiftly placed it in front of the hollow wall before running towards her. There was another loud explosion which revealed exactly what they had hypothesized; another entry way and several giant lizards with swords waiting to attack them.


	6. Chapter 6

**I wanna thank everyone for their lovely comments! And my friend Condiotti who even though is not a Voyager fan still motivates me. I Lurves you girl! *muah!* **

Christina aimed her arrow at the closest lizard; they were a good seven feet in height. Their skin was a brownish green color that glimmered even in the poor lighting. All of them had impressive looking bodies, built in the arms and chest, slim waists and then thighs so bulky that she literally did a double take. They were coming closer, and so completely focused was she on taking them down that she hardly heard it. At first she thought she had imagined it but once she saw that Vorik had jerked his head up, she knew it was real.

"Demean to Ramirez. You're needed in the communications lab on deck 15 as soon as possible."

_"Son of a…!" _Her mind screamed as she sighed loudly and got up from her fighting stance. "Computer; pause game."

"I'm sorry." She said as she gave Vorik an apologetic stare.

He lifted his hand as if he reassuring her. "I understand; we can reschedule for tomorrow if that is amendable to you."

She smiled at his response. "Thank you and yes we can continue tomorrow; I must go now."

Christina didn't even bother to change out of her pink Kokiri clothes for Lt. Demean didn't like to be kept waiting. She was out of breath and still slightly wet by the time she made it to the lab.  
Lt. Demean stood proudly before her, giving her a sneer of disdain and repugnance. "What the hell are you wearing Ensign?" She snarled.

"I was in the holodeck." She replied, but Demean continued to look at her with disdain so she tried to elaborate.

"I was partaking in an adventure module based off of a game that trains physical strength and problem solving skills." She tried to explain but knew it was a lost cause. She would never understand, and when she didn't comprehend something it was automatically dismissed as something insipid and pointless. Sometimes Christina asked herself how someone so incredibly close minded could have risen to a Lieutenant title.

"You look ridiculous. " She said with a sneer. "How old are you Ensign? To be parading around in such attire and playing games?"

"It's not.." Christina tried to explain again but Lt. Demean cut her off. "Furthermore!" She continued. "I hear that you've dragged that poor Ensign Vorik into your foolish inclinations!"  
She shook her head, her sneer never once relenting. "Vulcan's are creatures of logic, what did you do to him Ensign? How is it possible that he even consider such an activity?"

"I.." Christina began.

"SILENCE! I have not given you permission to speak!" She said as she walked over to her. She was so close that Christina could smell what she guessed was what she had for dinner. It was like a mixture of sauerkraut and lindenberry jelly; it made her stomach turn and she suddenly felt nauseas.

Christina was at a complete loss to understand what was happening. As far as she was concerned, she and Lt. Demean had always been on fairly good terms. Sure the woman was too demanding at times and there were moments where you had to sit down with her and explain things fives times in a way that she'd understand; it was that close-minded ness that was the issue, but it was never this bad and Christina didn't know whether to ask her if she'd been by sickbay lately or simply ask if she could be dismissed and hopefully her inexplicable fury towards her would calm.

"Permission to speak." She finally said after thinking it over.

"I will not grant you permission to speak! I called to inform you that you will carry on a double shift tomorrow. We need to catch up on our workload since Bill has been out sick, and you could surely be put to better use working rather than day dreaming and playing elf games in the holodeck!" She began to laugh at her own joke and then stopped to think. "As a matter of fact, I'm going to look in on this program you've created; I believe it might even go against Star Fleet regulations."

Christina was powerless to do anything and she didn't know whether she wanted to cry or punch her lights out. What had been a relatively good day turned into the worst one she'd ever had so far.

"I can't stand the sight of you anymore in that ridiculous garb; get out of my sight Ensign!" She said as she waved her away.

Christina was blinded by fury but forced herself to suppress her anger and leave. She began to undo the buttons on her tunic and take it off not even caring that people passing by were giving her odd looks. She was in her quarters when she took off her hat. She felt the smooth and damp material with her fingers, recalling how Demean had referred to her outfit. She growled angrily as she squeezed her hand into a fist and then threw the hat on the floor as if it had been the cause of all her problems.  
It was a good thing that her roommate wasn't there; she wasn't in the mood to explain what had happened.

Christina cleaned herself up and changed back into her uniform when she felt her stomach grumbling. She knew Neelix had probably closed down by now, but she could surely replicate a snack of some sort and sit in the darkness of the mess hall to be left to stew in her anger.

OoOoOoOoO

Just as she had thought, nobody was there and she let out a sigh of relief as she walked over to the replicator: "Corn Tamales"  
In a few seconds she was presented with a plate of two yellow square patties. She allowed herself a small smile as the smell of the corn wafted towards her. It was such a comfort to eat something warm after having been screamed at by the devil herself.

She sat down in a corner at the very end of the room. She didn't want to think about what had happened anymore; she wanted it to leave her mind and yet that's what she kept replaying. She kept seeing the sneer; the look of disdain and it simply did not make sense.  
She was so involved in her thoughts that she didn't hear footsteps as they approached. She took a forceful piece of tamale, cutting it into dozens of pieces with her fork in an exaggerative manner.

"I believe that you have sufficiently sliced your food Ensign."

She looked up in shock, grasping her chest as a reflex reaction until she realized it was Vorik. She could feel her heart rate increase; her stomach flutter and her cheeks grow warm. "You scared me; I thought it was just myself here."

He lifted a brow. "It is apparent that you are not."

She took one of her miniscule pieces of tamale with her fork and put it in her mouth to try to distract herself from how he affected her. "Mmm… Reminds me of Mexico." She said as she closed her eyes and relished the taste.

"Is that your country of origin on Earth?"

"I was born in Spain, but the family on my father's side did not agree to his marrying my mother and so when I was two years old we moved to Mexico where we lived for seventeen years before moving to California."

"I see." He simply said. "And may I inquire as to what is it that you're currently consuming?"

"Corn Tamales."

He raised a brow before heading to the direction of the food replicator.

He came back with two plates, one of them contained the same corn tamales she had gotten and then the other was like a mixture of vegetables. She sat up and peered at the latter plate.  
"What is that? It looks interesting."

"Adronn Feltara. A common Vulcan dish, would you like to try some?"

"I… It's not one of those heavily spiced dishes that humans can't withstand is it?"

"Believe me Ensign, if it were I would not offer it to you."

He held out a fork to her which she took. She quickly grabbed a small bit with a firm grip lest he see her trembling hands; she hated that she was still so nervous around him.  
She carefully chewed it, looking off to the sides, concentrating on what her taste buds were picking up.

"WOW, that's really good, so much flavor!"

A look of satisfaction crossed his features as he pulled the plate back over to his side. "I am pleased that you concur with my thoughts."

"I should tell you." She said once she finished chewing; a serious look now replacing her previous joyful one. "I cannot go to the holodeck with you tomorrow; I've been told that I have a double shift."

He didn't say anything at first and began eating his food. She thought for a moment that he simply wasn't going to comment at all on the subject when he spoke: "We can always reschedule to a time that accommodates us both." She stayed staring at him. Contemplating and trying to decipher what it is he really felt in regards to participating in the module with her. Was it possible that what Lt. Demean had said held merit?

"Would you humor me and tell me what you really think of this module? Do you find it to be a foolish waste of time?"

Instead of answering like she thought he would; he instead turned the question around on her. "Ensign; what do you think of the module?"

"I… Hold it with utmost esteem and I'll tell you why. I know that it's based off of a game and just by hearing that a lot of people would be put off. They think it nonsense and petty but the truth is: It is training. You have to put problem solving skills to use; do we not have to do the same in any given situation here? And another thing. It requires use of archery, swordsmanship as well as learning the use of other tools that we have not acquired yet; these are all things that Star Fleet holds as an asset so I don't understand why Lt. Demean made such a huge.." She caught herself and closed her mouth instantly.

It was too late, by now she knew that he had probably put two and two together.

"Ensign" He finally said, but she could not bring herself to look at him. "Were you reprimanded earlier for the use of your module in the holodeck?"

"I.. sort of. I believe that the module will be investigated, it is possible that we may not be able to use it again in the foreseeable future."

And there it was. The holodeck was really the only plausible excuse they had for spending time together and thanks to Lt. Demean it would probably be taken away. They'd stop seeing each other and he'd forget about her and go back to his solitary ways.

"If something that drastic would occur I'm sure we could find other modules to partake in; it would be illogical to jump to conclusions so early at this stage."

Did she hear right? He was actually suggesting that if Lt. Devil.. err.. Demean managed to sabotage her module, he'd still be willing to do something else with her?

"_Calm, must remain calm_." She thought to herself

"Y..Yes, we could." She finally replied, basking in the knowledge that he was willing to still spend time with her. Suddenly working a double shift tomorrow did not seem so bad after.


	7. Chapter 7

Christina's shift started with receiving the workload of Bill and then hers. She was expecting to find Lt. Demean in the same temper as the previous day but found that it was quite the opposite; she was being far too nice. She shuddered when she had flashed her evil grin. Yup; she might as well kiss her module goodbye, she couldn't see any other reason for which she was so damn happy all of the sudden.

She still couldn't understand why all of this had happened, but the severity of it was lessened in knowing that Vorik had agreed to spend time with her doing something else regardless.  
She stopped herself before her mind got carried away with the idea. "_Remember what Neelix said; don't get attached, we're just friends_."

The bright side to everything was that when Christina was busy, time went by in a heartbeat. She took one fifteen minute break after the first shift and then continued on the second. By the time that the second shift had finally ended she did not hear a single compliment from Lt. Demean, no thank you, no nothing except a: "You may go."

This was going to be a problem, maybe she just needed to talk to her and attempt a heart to heart conversation; she did not understand what she could have possibly done wrong in her eyes, but more to the point; if Lt. Demean as a leader was having a problem with her; the logical course of action was to sit her aside and discuss it rationally instead of making her feel like she was worthless and wasting her time. Not only is it unproductive, but it makes the person defensive so the next time you try to say or do anything, that defense wall automatically goes up and blocks everything out.  
How many times had Christina heard that being said in leadership seminars back in Star Fleet?;was Lt. Demean not present for those?

Christina was vaguely aware of her hunger and fell asleep the moment her face hit the pillow. The alarm was what woke her up, notifying her that she had to get ready yet again for work. She arrived to her station a few minutes early to catch up on her messages. Once she opened the folder however the first thing her eyes flew to was the name: From Ensign Vorik, subject: "schedule for today"  
Her heart leapt at the sight and she quickly opened his message where it stated:

"Ensign Ramirez,

With regards to our scheduled holodeck activities; I find that I will be unable to participate this evening at 1900 hours as is our norm. However; I hope that you will consider meeting me at 2100 hours in the mess hall which is approximately around the same time we spoke two days prior. If you are not yet familiar with it I would like to introduce you to a game of Kal-toh. I think you will appreciate the problem solving skills and challenge it involves.  
Please reply either accepting or declining my invitation.

Ensign Vorik"

And that's as romantic as it was going to get coming from a Vulcan and yet Christina could not stop smiling. She must've re-read the message three times before she finally wrote back accepting the invitation.

OoOoOoOoOoO

During the middle of her shift, Christina took a break and met up with Lira explaining everything that had happened the last couple of days.

"Wow, what a bitch!" Lira said with utmost distaste. "She has no right to talk to you in that manner, especially someone with her title. They're supposed to lead by example, what kind of example is that?"

Christina rubbed her forehead anxiously trying to ward off an oncoming headache.

"I think I just need to take the initiative and talk to her; try to set things straight."

"I'm so sorry Christina. I sympathize with what you've been through."

"Thanks." She replied dryly.

"Look on the bright side though; you're still going to hang out with Vorik, in the dark, all alone in the mess hall. It almost sounds like he's staging it on purpose to get some quiet alone time with you."

Christina burst out laughing. She covered her mouth and looked around to make sure nobody had seen her. "Wow Lira. You have such an active imagination."

"Well; I've got a date tonight as well. I'm meeting up with Brian again."

Christina gave her a sly grin. "Date number three hmm? What have you got planned?"

"We're going to have dinner, and then stop by deck 7 to watch that Vivaldi quartet that's playing, did you see the announcement for that?.

"I did. I'm more of a Bizet fan myself. I like Vivaldi but after two songs; I'm done."

"That's right, you're more into the passionate classics." Lira laughed. "What's poor Vorik gonna do when he finds out that beneath the quiet and shy exterior you carry hides a passionate crazed fiend?"

Christina froze for a few seconds before she picked up the mug Lira was drinking from and sniffed it. "No trace of alcohol so I'm left to assume that you've completely lost your mind."

Lira's eyes grew wide and a smirk played on her lips. "Now, now; you don't want to start calling me names and following in the steps of your Lt."

Christina scoffed. "With the difference that I know that you're joking and don't go into a passionate rant about why what you're saying is wrong, and then suggest that you change everything about yourself."

"Even if you did." Lira said seriously. "I still would not change who I am, and you shouldn't either. Don't let that woman get to you."

Christina smiled. She loved Lira, knew that she meant well; but this was one of those occasions where things were easier said than done. "Gotta get back to the grind. See you later."

OoOoOoOoOoO

Christina tried to find a moment to speak with Lt. Demean, she needed to be the bigger man in this ordeal and put whatever troubles they had behind them, but she was either busy or not present at all. The end of her shift came and she contemplated trying to track her down but she really wanted to get some sleep before leaving to meet Vorik otherwise her mind would be too exhausted to keep up with this Kal-toh game he wanted to play. The name in itself sounded intimidating, she just hoped she wouldn't screw up too badly in front of him.

She arrived five minutes early at the mess hall and found that Vorik was already there setting up the game at the same table they had sat at previously.  
Christina raised a brow when she saw that in the middle of the table lay a mess of metallic looking rods.

He looked up at her as she approached and immediately pulled out the chair for her to sit down.

"I am pleased that you have accepted my invitation. I have been made aware that there is a concert taking place on the 7th deck that coincides with our meeting and was unsure that you would be able to make it until I received your reply."

Christina sat down, feeling her cheeks grow warm at his show of chivalrous manners. "Yes, my friend Lira is attending. I had thought about going but when I found out that what would be played is the composed works of Vivaldi, I decided to skip it."

He gave her an amused look as he sat across from her before replying: "Does your reply signify that you do not enjoy the early classics of Earth music?"

"Far from it, I enjoy it thoroughly but in my personal opinion, Vivaldi's style is too playful and flamboyant for my taste. I can understand why, and I'm sure it worked for him since he was a priest during the baroque period; my taste is… Somewhat different. For example, one of my favorite works is Mozart's Don Giovanni Opera. I have to say; Don Giovanni has to be one, if not the best Opera written in the 18th century, are you familiar with it?"

Vorik continued to look at her with amusement before replying: "I'm afraid that I am not familiar with that particular piece, nor with Opera in general.

"Oh". She suddenly remembered her previous conversation with Lira and grew self-conscious about going into detail about her preference towards music.

When he saw that she was not going to say anything further he replied: "I had overheard from someone in engineering that they would be playing Mozart next week. It is highly improbable that they will perform Don Giovanni, but perhaps you'd be interested in attending despite this fact. I would be amendable to learning more about Earth's early music styles as it seems to be something many of you value."

This is the second time he did this to her in the mess hall. Just randomly throw out an invitation to do something together and yet the excitement was still as exhilarating as the first time. If she could; she would pat herself on back, for she acted very calm and collected as she simply nodded her head. "I would have to double check my schedule but I believe that I will be able to accompany you."

She looked down towards the table, unable to look directly at him lest he peer into her eyes and see everything she was feeling in that exact moment. Due to this however she had failed to see the briefest upturn of his lips before he cleared his throat and began to explain the game to her.

**AN: I just wanted to add that this chapter in no way is meant to disregard Vivaldi's amazing works such as his famous "Four Seasons" piece. He was a brilliant and talented composer, but I worked it out this way for the sake of the story.**


	8. Chapter 8

Two days had gone by and Christina had not seen anything of Lt. Demean. She had even gone as far as going over to her computer as asking: "Computer, where is Lt. Demean?" followed by receiving the answer: "Lt. Demean is not aboard the ship."

"_What? How was that even possible?_" As far as she was concerned, they were still traveling in space, and she had not been notified of her leaving via shuttle craft so… It wasn't making any sense at all so she went and talked to Bill who had recently just gotten back from sick leave.

"Hey Bill, you wouldn't happen to have seen Demean have you?"

He seemed to think about it before replying: "The last time I saw her was when I reported back for duty three days ago. Come to think of it, she looked like hell."

"And you wouldn't happen to know if she left anyone in charge?"

He shook his head. "Why? You've got some kind of trouble you needed to talk to her about?"

"No, nothing like that; it's just all so strange, and I'm worried about her."

He leaned back in his chair and thought it through before replying: "I'll keep my eyes open and let you know of anything I find out; now you've got me worried."

"I'm sorry about that, it's just that I personally think she's been acting strange and now she just disappears without a word."

"No, you're right. It's not like her, I mean; she's a strange person in general, but this does sound like a bit much even for her."

"Thanks Bill. Listen; I'm taking off for the day, are you going to be alright? Do you want me to come by later?"

"Nah; I'll be alright. But If I do find out anything then I'll let you know."

"Yeah do that; I'd appreciate it." She said as she smiled.

Bill watched as she walked away, his smile fading as he was deep in thought. He looked around before he took off, leaving the communications lab and taking the turbo lift towards sickbay.  
He greeted the doctor. "How is she?"

"I… I believe that this is something I prefer she tell you herself; she's in there, you can go see her."

He nodded and walked over to where Lt. Demean was laying down.  
He looked at her with a pitiful look upon his face. "Lt. how are you feeling?"

She sort of just shrugged. "I'm going to die Bill, what can I say?"

"Ramirez has been asking about you; she seems legitimately worried."

She sighed loudly, shifting uncomfortably where she lay.

"You should tell her, and others about your condition, about what happened to you; to us!"

"LIKE SHE WOULD CARE!" Demean shouted.  
She laughed bitterly as she looked up and away from Bill, tears starting to form in her eyes.  
"I've given so much of my life, my being to Star Fleet, and for what? What was it for Bill? I have never known the joys of having lots of friends, enjoying leisure activities or… falling in love. Why should she have that?"

"Demean, I have no idea what you're talking about right now." Bill said shaking his head.

"It's Lieutenant!" She barked.

"And we could've cured you had you come forward with your symptoms instead of ignoring it and throwing yourself into your work." He added.

"Leave me; right now. This conversation is over."

"But.." He tried.

She turned her back towards him and closed her eyes. He wasn't going to argue with her so he simply turned and left sickbay, debating with himself whether he should go back to his post or quickly try to find Christina and just tell her the truth already.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Vorik and Christina were outside of the holodeck when she gave the computer instructions: "Computer set up Zelda program Skyward 36 from last saved point."

"Access denied."

Christina felt numb and incredibly embarrassed. She had a feeling that the program would be disabled but definitely not so soon.  
Vorik walked over as he calmly asked: "Computer, who has disabled the program?"

"Unknown" It replied.

Vorik attempted another question: "Computer, for what purpose has Zelda program Skyward 36 been disabled?"

"Unknown" It replied again.

He lifted a questioning brow. "That is indeed very strange."  
He looked over at Christina and asked: "Have you spoken to your superior since she reprimanded you?"

Christina closed her eyes in shame. It was just the way he said it made her feel as if she were a five year old who was being punished for misbehaving.

"Christina?" He asked again. She blinked at the sound of his voice pronouncing her name; it made her skin break out in prickles.

"I haven't. Nobody knows where she is and when you ask the computer it says she's not aboard."

He again lifted a questioning brow and turned back towards the computer: "Computer, track and locate Lt. Demean."

"Lt. Demean is not aboard the ship."

"That is extremely unlikely" He said more to himself than to her. "We are currently traveling in space and as far as I know there is no record of launched shuttle crafts. I can go down to engineering and investigate this further."

"You don't have to do that Vorik." She said, immediately feeling odd about him getting involved like this. He lifted a brow at her direction, giving her a look that said he wasn't hearing any of it.

"You will accompany me of course." Leading her to believe he would hear no argument on the subject.

She blushed and gave him a small smile. "In that case, how can I refuse?"

They made it to engineering, and walked over to a small work station near the warp core. She marveled at the way his features hardened in concentration and watched in awe as his fingers flew with rapid speeds all over the console.

"Vorik! What are you still doing here? I told you we'd take care of it Tomorrow!" Christina's eyes grew wide and both she and Vorik turned around at the same time to see B'Elanna standing before them.  
"Oh!" She said when she saw Christina standing next to him. "I didn't realize we had a visitor!"

"Lt. Torres. Ensign Ramirez and I have sufficient evidence to suspect that someone has been tampering with the computer. We have come here to investigate further."

B'Elanna shook her head. "Like what? This sounds serious Vorik."

"Lt. Demean of communications has not been seen for various days, and when the computer is asked of her location, it says that she is not on board."

"No, that can't be." Replied B'Elanna. "There are no shuttle crafts out and we're traveling in space."

"Precisely." Vorik replied.

"And that's it? The computer won't give you her location?"

"That and when Ensign Ramirez and I tried to run a program in the holodeck; it denied us entry."

B'Elanna blinked rapidly and looked between Vorik and Christina. "A Holodeck? You and.. oh.. umm ok. What did it say?"

"It said permission was denied, but when asked for the reason, it said 'unknown'."

B'Elanna was looking at Christina as she listened to Vorik, unable to keep herself from wondering what it was they were doing trying to go in the holodeck together in the first place, but this was Vorik she was talking about; there was no way… There had to be some logical reasoning behind it all for sure.

"Lieutenant?... Lieutenant?"

B'Elanna shot her head up. "Yes! Umm.. go ahead and do what you need to do in order to find out what's going on, and if anything odd come's up be sure to notify me."

"Thank you Lieutenant." Vorik said with a nod before turning back around and continuing to focus on the work console.

Christina stayed quietly beside him, watching him work at lightning speeds when he finally spoke. "I do not understand, everything is showing up as normal, but it is obviously not. Do you really have no way of finding out where she might be? Any crew member that you have seen her associating with before?"

She thought about it and the fact was that, the times she had seen her on duty and off she was always by herself.  
The last person she saw her with was Bill when they went on a mission off planet together. She had understood from Bill that something in the planet's atmosphere had made him sick, but it had obviously not affected her.

"I've already spoken to the only other person who I've seen her with, and he wasn't of much help."

"I believe that it might be worthwhile to bring this to the attention to the Captain. I also believe that it would be of much concern for her to find out that one of her crewmen went missing all of the sudden. I shall stay here and investigate further and notify you if I find anything."

For the first time, Christina allowed herself to purposely reach out and touch Vorik on the shoulder. The simple act said so much as he turned around to face her_. Thank you; I'm grateful.  
_As if knowing; he replied:"We will figure this out." He whispered. And then he did it.  
Such a simple gesture and yet it said so very much. He had reached out and given her arm a gentle caress. Starting from the top of her shoulder and ending at the crook of her elbow. She had seen it done countless times, and it usually didn't mean anything beyond: "Take Care" or "Be careful" but to her it was some kind of breakthrough because everyone knew that Vulcans didn't touch… Except for that one time where their fingers accidently brushed against one another while they were playing Kal-Toh.

Just as soon as it had happened, it ended for he had turned back around to his console leaving her at a loss for words so she too turned around and went to the direction of the turbo lift. She'd try to talk to Bill again before she tried the Captain; the guy had to have some kind of clue!

She walked into the turbo lift and was about to tell it her destination when someone roughly grabbed her and hit her so hard that she instantly lost consciousness.


	9. Chapter 9

**I felt in necessary to up the rating on this story to T because of this chapter, and future ones. It's very minor but since FF is cracking down on stories I figure I'd play it safe.**

Vorik had to turn around at that moment. He had not expected something as simple as a caress to have such an untimely effect on him physically; and this was considering that her arm was covered by her uniform, had it been skin on skin contact...  
That however was not an option. That sort of activity was only allowed between two individuals who were bonded, if he allowed himself to divulge in such conduct it would be a humiliation not only to him but to the name of the Vulcan species as well. He could not blame his desire on the effects of his blood fever for he could physically feel that it had purged over three weeks ago after his fight with B'Elanna. He understood that it was due to attraction towards Christina; he was unsure how he perceived this, especially having recently moved on from the public humiliation of it all. Once he was done helping Christina... or Ensign Ramirez; he would spend the remainder of his time in deep meditation.

He was unsure of how much time had passed when he heard the Captain's voice emanate powerfully all throughout engineering: "This is Captain Janeway to all crew members informing you to be on alert for Lt. Melanie Demean from communications. She has been reported missing by the doctor; any interaction with her is thought to be hazardous and could prove to be fatal. Please exercise extreme caution until she is found; Janeway out."

Vorik raised a questionable brow at the news. It was Christina who should've reported her missing; what did the doctor have to do with it? Without any hesitation, he quickly tapped his communicator: "Vorik to Ramirez; please reply." The seconds of silence were confirming his suspicions but he tried again. "Vorik to Ramirez; Christina, please respond." Again; there was silence and he turned swiftly around; almost bumping into B'Elanna in the process.

"Vorik! Watch where you're going!" She snarled in annoyance.

"Sorry Sir, but I am greatly concerned."

"Yeah; I heard it too." She said interrupting him.

"It's not only that, for I have been trying to contact Ensign Ramirez and have been unsuccessful in my pursuit. She was the one that was going to report Lt. Demean missing, but I have come to find that it was the Doctor who did."

"Wait.." She said holding up her hand. "Ensign Ramirez is missing? The young woman that was here with you earlier?"

"Affirmative."

She ran over to the console and asked: "Computer, track and locate Ensign Ramirez."

"Ensign Ramirez is not aboard the ship." Her eyes grew wide as she looked over at Vorik who seemed unchanged by the news but she had been working with him long enough to realize that and he would slightly hang his head when he was troubled by something; which was what he had done now.

"I'm going to report this." She said before she took off.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"For someone who spends so much time "training" you sure were easy to take down." Christina heard. She opened her eyes and felt a shot of pain coming from the back of her head, it hurt to move around.

"Lieutenant?" She asked frantically. "What are you doing? Where are we?"

The response she got was being grabbed roughly by the arm and being injected with something. Her eyes shot up towards her assailant despite the blinding pain she felt.  
Christina's fighting instincts took over in that moment and she instantly balled up her fist and hit her Lieutenant hard in the face, feeling the impact of skin and bones as she watched her slump over backwards.  
She had wanted to do that for so long and yet it did not feel half as good as she expected. So she dove after her, grabbing her by the front of her uniform and pinning her against the wall. There was blood coming out of her mouth, and bruises all over her face that she could instantly tell were not caused by her.

"Yes!" Lt. Demean hissed. "Kill me; do it now! I know that you want to!"

"You're mad." Christina replied with disgust, still holding up her against the wall.

"We'll just see who will be mad in a few hours from now. This here.." She was now holding up the empty cartridge from the hypospray she had used on her. "Holds the same virus that both Bill and I have been infected with; I thought it only right to pass it on to you as well. Oh, and don't think that anybody is going to find you; especially that Vulcan puppet of yours."

A crazed look crossed upon Christina's features and she slammed Demean against the wall again and again. "What have you done to him? Where is he?" She screamed, unable to process the idea that she might've hurt him.

Demean sneered at her, the blood curling along her lip in the process. "He will never find you, nobody will. You will finally know what it's like!"

"Know what? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Just finish me off right now Ramirez! Haven't you got the guts? You always were a coward, a coward who'd pass it off as being shy! The only thing you'd face is the computer images of the holodecks because they're not real! You always were pathetic!"

"I don't consider valuing life as being a coward; even if it is yours!" She shot back. She looked at her arm and then turned back to her. "What you've just done is the perfect example of cowardice! Why? Why would you even do something like this?"

Demean smiled a sick sort of evil grin before her face hardened again. "If you're not going to kill me than get the hell off of me!" She lifted her hand to slap her but Christina's fast reflexes caused her to catch her wrist in mid-air.

"They'll never find you.." Demean started to chant in a crazed like manner. Her eyes taking on a wide and glazed look as her mouth hung open in mid-chant. "Never..." Demean began jerking violently and then her eyes rolled towards the back of her head before she passed out.  
Christina watched in shock before she kneeled down before her, cautiously looking her over lest it be another trap of some kind. She cautiously reached over to try and feel her pulse when the world started to violently turn before her. She felt as if she were going to be sick; she felt her stomach twisting so violently that she lunged forward and away from Demean should she spill her evening meal all over the place, but nothing ever came up, and darkness blanketed her vision.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Currently we have security searching on all decks" The small yellow haired woman from security informed him. Vorik could not believe that it would take so long to find two people within the ship, it had been almost three hours and nothing had been found as far as he knew.

"Are you certain that there is enough security crew tending to this matter?"

The yellow haired woman seemed annoyed but he could not bring himself to care over that pointless emotion at this moment; there were lives at stake and he needed to have all the facts.

"Perhaps if you could conduct a search on your console and find out if there are any areas within the ship that have been blocked. I attempted to try this in engineering but was unsuccessful."  
Her eyes grew wide, and she immediately turned to input her information. "Computer, are there any areas within the ship that are blocked?"

"That information has been disabled by security." She turned to him quickly, typing in her codes to override the computer.  
"I can assure you that we did no such thing. It sounds like various sections of the ships computer have been tampered with." She finished entering her code and asked again. "Computer, are there any areas within the ship that have been blocked off?

"Affirmative; Deck 9, upper main shuttle bay has been blocked for access."

Vorik's eyes shot up at the news and he quickly turned to the young blonde woman again. "Please have at least two people from security meet me in Deck 9; I'm headed there right this moment."

"Yes, right away" She replied.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

They found Christina and Lt. Demean in the corner of the room near the computer console.  
Lt. Demean had been declared dead and Christina was in serious condition. Vorik had carried her all the way to sickbay, deeply disturbed by how lifeless her body felt, and how pale her skin had gotten.  
When he dropped her off, Vorik turned towards the doctor, something akin to frustration was apparent on his features. "Doctor; I wish to be informed as to the details of this whole ordeal. Why was.."

"Ensign Vorik." The doctor began. "I cannot converse with you at this moment; Ensign Ramirez needs my immediate attention."  
He knew the doctor's course of action was logical. He looked at her unconscious form and then back at the doctor who was already getting his supplies ready. It did not sit well with him to know that he was powerless to do anything other than watch at this point.

"Nurse! I need a tricorder in here right now!"

Vorik did not know how long he had simply stood there, watching the doctor go back and forth with Ramirez. She had still not opened her eyes, and the doctor and nurse were continuously running back and forth gathering supplies for her. He knew that there must be a level of severity involved since he had not been asked to leave yet. As a matter of fact; he doubted that they were even aware of the fact that he was still there watching them.  
He had not known Christina for very long, but in that short time he had come to value her company and he did not know how it would affect him should she not make it through from this ordeal. He knew it was illogical to think so far ahead, but it was still a concern.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard footsteps, they were quick and punctuated, the person was running, and this was confirmed by hearing the sounds of hard breathing. He turned around to see who it was and found it was a young Bajoran who looked at him for a moment and then looked over and saw Christina being tended to.  
She gasped loudly upon seeing her and brought her hands up to her face. "Oh my goodness, Christina!" She cried into her hands. The emotional display was making him feel uncomfortable, not because he wasn't worried himself but because he had been brought up to believe that such displays were to be repressed at all costs. He looked up at her and was trying to think of something plausible to say in order to try and calm her when she suddenly started talking.

"How long has she been here?"

"I…. " He thought about it and realized that he had actually not taken note of the time from when he arrived with her to sickbay to the present hour; it was very unlike him.

"I must confess that I am unable to give you an accurate answer to that question, but it has been.. A while."

"Did you bring her here?"

He nodded. "Affirmative."

"How… How did this happen?"

And the truth to that question was that he wasn't really sure how it happened, but he went ahead and told her what had transpired during the course of the day and instead of the Bajoran feeling better, she only seemed to become more upset.

"That woman had it out for her. She had been giving Christina a hard time for no reason. Belittling her achievements, forcing her to do work that didn't pertain to her and then mocking her sense of character and personality. I should've known better, I should've told her to report her a long time ago and I didn't."

Vorik did not know this bit of information. He had made an estimated guess that Christina and her superior did not share a good relationship since he had become aware that she had been reprimanded over something so miniscule, but hearing her friend speak made this whole affair extremely disturbing.

She looked up at him as she pulled out a tissue from her pocket. "I'm sorry; I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Lira Citel; Christina's close friend.

He nodded. "I am Vorik."

She gave him a watery smile as she dabbed at her moist face. "Yes; Christina has mentioned you before."  
That comment awoke something within him; he could feel it even as he remained perfectly calm as he normally did.  
"She is my friend." Was all he could say.

Suddenly he heard another pair of footsteps approaching. It was a disheveled looking young man who came barging in. He walked up to Lira and then up to Vorik. "Where is she? I have to see her!"  
He was about to bypass Vorik and head to the direction of where Christina lay when Vorik suddenly stepped right in front of him.

"The doctor is currently treating her, by all rights we shouldn't even be here."

"That's right!" The doctor called from where he stood. A grievous look upon his face. "Now I know that you're all worried, but I'm going to have to ask you all to leave. If you would like; I will notify you when she regains consciousness."

They all looked at each other before heading out of sickbay. Once they were outside Vorik quickly turned towards the young man before he could leave and asked: "If you wouldn't mind my asking; how exactly are you acquainted with Ensign Ramirez?" He was looking him straight in the eyes, watching for any signs of emotion emitting from the human.  
The young man looked at the floor and ran a shaky hand through his sandy hair before mumbling with distaste. "I'm Bill; I uh.. I work with her."

Vorik's eyes lit up in understanding for it was he who she was trying to contact with regard to the whereabouts of Lt. Demean.  
Bill let out a shaky breath, his voice cracking as she said: "This is all my fault."


	10. Chapter 10

It was discovered by Bill that while he and Demean had been on an away mission, he had been denied access to return to work due to a virus he had picked up while on planet. Demean however showed up negative for said virus but several days later began to exhibit strange signs. Her already disagreeable character had worsened due to the chemical imbalances in her brain; it also caused parts of her body to bruise. Bill had caught her trying to disguise her bruises and she had threatened him with a court marshal if he came forward about it.  
During one of her shifts a few days later she had fallen unconscious and that was when Bill finally decided enough was enough and took her to sickbay. Since she was not viewed as an immediate threat, she was not tied down or quarantined so Bill concluded that at some point she had managed to sneak out of sickbay and hack into several of the computers aboard the ship unnoticed.

Lira looked like she was about to hit him, she visibly shook with rage as he told the story and at one point couldn't stop herself form interrupting him. "You knew that she was sick and acting like a psycho and you still kept your mouth shut because of fear over getting court marshaled? Do you realize that had you come forward none of this would've happened?"

"You think I don't know that already?" He yelled back. "You think it's going to be easy knowing that Demeans death could've been avoided and now Christina.." His voice faltered and he took a deep breath.

"Discussing what could've been will not resolve the present predicament." Vorik quickly interjected before Lira could yell at him again. He had observed that her fists were balled up at her sides; he had to admit that he understood her sentiments at present. "It is now in the hands of the skilled doctor to ensure Christina's recovery."  
Nothing else was said; eventually they all left when they realized that the doctor wasn't going to be calling them in anytime soon. Vorik spent what few hours he dedicated to sleep meditating and maybe expecting to be called by the doctor but this did not occur.

Vorik welcomed the distraction of working and even arrived half an hour prior the start of his shift.  
"I heard about what happened." Lt. Torres mentioned at one point while they were working. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her for a moment before continuing to work without making a comment.  
"Have you seen her yet?" She asked.  
"The doctor said he would notify me when she had regained consciousness. It is logical to conclude that she has yet to reach said state."  
Lt. Torres gave him a small smile. "She'll be fine, and when you are contacted by the doctor; you have my permission to take off for the remainder of the day; I'll cover for you."

"I couldn't possibly." He began.

"That's an order Ensign!" She said as she walked away from him. He raised a brow as he went back to his work.

"Doctor to Ensign Vorik"  
Vorik blinked hard a few times having been caught off guard before answering: "Vorik here Sir."

"As promised, I am calling to notify you that Ensign Ramirez has regained consciousness."

"How is she?" He asked.

"Would you like to stop by sickbay and see for yourself?"

Normally, he would've declined. He was in the middle of interjoining the G-Type joist girder and it was something he didn't like to leave only half finished, but he found himself nodding and replying. "I shall be there shortly; Vorik out."

A few minutes later he arrived at sickbay to find Lira leaning over Christina; his brows went up when he saw that she was digging through her hair. "Ow! That hurt Lira!"  
"You still have debris in your hair; I'm trying to make you look presentable! How else are you going to land a man?"

"I almost got killed and you're worried about me landing a man?" Christina mumbled weakly.

"Girl! Haven't you ever heard of the' Florence Nightingale Syndrome'?"

"Doctor!" Christina called out.

"What?" Lira asked. "Are you in pain?"

"No, I want the Doctor to have YOU checked out cause you sound like a lunatic."

Vorik all the while had just realized that he had been standing there watching the playful banter between the two, he had to admit it had been amusing despite its illogical content. He had gotten away with it too because he was standing at a far distance with their backs to him, his superior hearing had its advantages at times.

"Vorik!" Came a loud salutation followed by a hard slap on the back. He slumped forward from the impact but quickly straightened himself up and calmly looked to his side already knowing it had come from Neelix.  
"Don't just stand and admire from a far! Go over there and talk to them! I'm here to see Christina too!"  
Vorik quickly looked up and saw the two young women with expressions of surprise on their faces, then he saw Lira dig through Christina's hair again as if making sure it was in place.  
"Will you stop that already?" He heard Christina mumble. "You look like an ape trying to de-flea me."

When they rounded the corner, he saw Lira suddenly pull away from Christina and stood calmly with her hands folded in front of her as if she had been standing in that way the whole time. Christina's cheeks were already flushed but reddened even more upon their arrival. She had looked up at Vorik but then quickly looked down again as if not knowing where to look. Neelix walked ahead of Vorik and quickly came to Christina's side, opposite of Lira.

"How is my favorite Ensign doing?" He looked up at Vorik and mumbled: "No offense Vorik."

She smiled up at him and replied. "I'm fine now; I don't know why the doctor won't release me."

"Because.." Came his voice as he walked towards them. "Not only did you suffer from a contusion that caused an eccysmosis, but you also had intracranial bleeding. It was good that Ensign Vorik brought you when he did; I was able to stop it before it could cause any serious damage."

"Wow, Vorik saved the day." Neelix said in an impressed manner.

"I was only acting in a manner that is expected of me by Star Fleet standards." He quickly supplied.

"Regardless; I am grateful." Christina replied only looking up at him momentarily before she started fidgeting with the blanket that lay over her waist.  
He responded with a nod.

"I miss seeing you at the mess hall Christina;" Said Neelix."It sure isn't the same without you. I miss our gossip sessions."

She laughed and made an effort to not look at Vorik in that moment. "That's nice of you to say Neelix, but I'll be back before you know it."

"You better! I'm making your favorite when they finally let you out of here; Baked Ziti!"

"Ohhh.." Christina moaned. "I haven't had baked ziti in forever."

"Expect it!" Neelix said excitedly."I remember the first time I made baked ziti; I was in the mines of Zeolar, and had made a type of earthen oven out of rocks and.."

"Ok, I think it's time we let Ensign Ramirez get some rest." The doctor interrupted as he patted Neelix on the back and began to steer him towards the exit. Lira quickly followed after and signaled with her eyes over to Vorik; he had not seen this transpire for he was following after Neelix.

"What?" Christina mouthed.

"Tell. Him. To. Stay!" Lira mouthed back before she caught up with them again.

Christina sighed loudly and was about to open her mouth to call him but he had at that moment turned back around and began walking towards her. The doctor came around and grabbed him by the shoulder and began: "Ensign, the patient should really be left to."

"Please." Interrupted Christina.

"I wish to speak to him." The doctor cocked his head to side and then slightly shrugged his shoulders. "Just for a short while." Both Christina and Vorik looked at the doctor who continued to stay standing there amongst them until Vorik said: "I think she meant alone doctor."

"Oh!" The doctor fidgeted as he looked between the two. "I'll just be in my lab then." And promptly left; leaving them alone. Christina was already sitting up, but she began to fluff the pillow she had supporting her back.  
"I hate these beds, they're so uncomfortable."

Vorik was now standing next to her and helped straighten it out for her, their fingers gently grazed against each other in the process and an electrifying tingle ran down Christina's spine.  
"Why don't you pull up a seat, it feels kind weird having you tower over me"

He quirked a brow at her before finding a chair and placing it next to her.

"Were you on duty when they called you?" She inquired.

"I was."

"Oh; you won't get in trouble being here with me, will you? I didn't even think to ask before."

"Due to the recent events, Lt. Torres saw fit to take over for the remainder of my shift."

"Wow, that's very nice of her."

He nodded.

"I wish to inquire as to what happened after you left engineering. How did you end up on the shuttle bay?"

And so Christina explained all that had happened, leaving out the 'vulcan puppet' comment in the process. All the while Vorik remained calmly seated as if listening to her speak of the weather.  
At one point he sat up straighter and interrupted her: "She injected you with her virus? Has the doctor remedied that situation?"

"Yes, he's been running tests every hour just to make sure. It's not contagious through air or touch if that is what you're concerned about." She said with some slight alarm.

"This fact does not alarm me; but I now agree with the doctor's suggestion; you should not be released until it is absolutely certain that you are well."

"But I am! I don't even want to think of how backed up we must be workwise with Bill and now Lira having to carry the load."

"She is in communications as well?" He queried.

"Yes, but she was on a different deck before, they moved her with us now."

He momentarily wondered after having seen their interplay if having the two of them in the same work environment would be productive.

"Your health is more important at this moment; your worrying will produce the opposite effect of a speedy recovery. It will take longer for you to return to work or other activities for that matter."  
Her eyes grew wide at this. "That's right! How many days until the concert?"  
"4 days, 7 hours, 23 seconds."

"Can you be more specific?"

He raised his brow and replied; "But I see that you're sense of humor is still intact."

"Vorik…" She began. "Words cannot express how grateful I am to you."

"Like I said before; I was only acting in a manner that is expected of me and of course…." He paused for a moment before continuing." There is that and the fact that I value our friendship."

She smiled and felt her cheeks grow warm. "I value it as well."  
She lifted her hand towards him; he looked at it before looking back her. He swallowed hard as he felt himself unfold his arms from across his chest and slowly brought one of them out towards her. It would be illogical to refuse her; she was after all in a state of recovery. Yes; that was it.

Her small hand enveloped his, she had such soft skin. She gave a small squeeze and was beginning to lessen her grip to pull back but he did not let go.  
She looked up at him, not with alarm but rather with curiosity. His face was solemn with concentration. Somehow she seemed to know that he was silently asking for approval so she gave him a small nod, he in turn nodded and lifted her hand so that it was pressed flatly against his. His fingers began to cascade slowly down her own, the sensations once again sending shivers down her spine. It was odd, she could feel a pleasure that was not her own; granted touching him was nice, but what she was feeling was something far greater than what she personally felt.  
She looked up and saw that his eyes were closed and his breathing was more labored. His hand was down to her wrist area now, his larger fingers drawing small circles within her palm, he reached a spot that caused him to gasp out loud and his eyes shot open in that instant.

"Forgive me!" He said suddenly as he pulled his hand away from hers.

"For what? I enjoyed what we were doing."

"You are ill." He replied without looking at her, it would be inappropriate.  
She sighed loudly and leaned back against her pillow. At least he hadn't gotten up and marched out of sickbay. His reaction had left her feeling awkward however, and she didn't know what to do about it.

"You're right." She finally replied. "And I certainly don't want to make you uncomfortable. Thank you for everything, and the visit; but I'm feeling a bit tired now."

"Christina…" He whispered.

"It's ok; really." She replied.

He got up and put the chair back where it had been previously before standing in front of her again. "I will return tomorrow during my mid-day shift recess."

"Vorik.." She began. "I know that you're busy, I don't expect you to be coming here all the time."

"I will book no argument on the subject." He said with finality. "I shall see you tomorrow at 1300 hours."

A grin formed on her face, he lifted a brow in turn. "Till then." She replied. He nodded and left sickbay immediately, leaving her with a smile before she eventually drifted to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Vorik arrived at the exact time that he said he would. Before heading to sickbay however, he had stopped by the mess hall and had Neelix prepare a couple of the Asian Veggie Wraps with sweet potato chips and watermelon juice; he remembered Christina saying that she ate it frequently.  
"Ensign, would you do me a favor and tell her that I'll be by later to visit her if they haven't already released her?"  
He lifted a brow and nodded. "I will relay the message."

When he arrived however, he found that the bed she was laying in before was vacant and only the navy blue blanket lay crumpled in the center. He placed their food on a nearby table and walked outside the lab where sometimes the Doctor would be when he was running tests. He found her there perched over an easel and working on what seemed to be a painting. The doctor was by her side, his hand under his chin as he hrm'd and hummed.  
"Ensign, have you worked with oils before?"

"Back in college I did, never seem to have time for it anymore."

"You are quite talented; this is a lovely example of a 19th century country earth landscape."

"I'll let you keep it when I'm done, it'll perk up your otherwise dull laboratory."

The doctor dropped his hand from underneath his chin and harrumphed. "I'll have you know Ensign that my laboratory is brimming with information and tools, and."

"Yeah; that's another word for dull." She teased.

"I should have taken away that paint set the minute I saw you with it! This is not play time Ensign! You should be lying down and.."

Vorik decided at that moment to clear his throat, and they both turned around; Vorik instantly taking note of the blue paint that was now smeared across Christina's cheek.  
"I hope I am not interrupting." He said simply.

"You are absolutely not Ensign Vorik, come and talk some sense into this girl who can't seem to stay still. I walk away for just a short while and find her with." He waved his hands around her painting. "This!"

"Hey!" She stated hotly. "You just said you liked it a few minutes ago. Does this mean you don't want it when I'm done?"

"No, no, no, Let's not get carried away; you can leave it here when you're done." He said calmly.

Vorik came around and looked at it, admiring the blue skies and fluffy white clouds. She had drawn many lush green trees and plants, some with highlights of yellow and orange. Then there was a small river running down the banks, and what appeared to be a small cottage complete with smoke coming out of the chimney, she was currently working on a small bridge that went across the small river. Looking at it seemed to brighten his mood, and he wondered if there were still places like that on Earth.  
"You are very detailed." He commented.

"Thank You!" she said as she got up and started to wipe her hands with a cloth. "I'm just going to freshen up…. With the doctor's permission of course." She said in an exaggerative manner. He shooed her away and then returned to looking at the painting.  
"This reminds me of 20th century earth art, she was using the wet on wet technique to give it a realistic look, it's almost as if I'm there amidst the trees and." He caught himself and shook his head before he turned around to face Vorik who had an amused look on his face.

"Yes well." He began. He looked over and saw the food. "You brought her food, yes; she needs to gain her strength back; good call Ensign!"

"When will she be able to leave Doctor?"

"I think that by this evening I'll have determined if she is in fact out of danger from the virus. I am only telling you this Ensign because she mentioned that she had told you of what occurred." He looked at him and smiled a little bit. "She seems to be quite taken with you Ensign."

Vorik's cheeks took on a hue of green as did his ears before he grumbled: "That is a very personal topic of discussion doctor."

"Ensign Vorik" He began. "Do not forget that I am your physician as well, and anything you tell me is completely confidential. I could help you, and don't you think it would be logical to come to a human with concerns towards another human?"

"You are a hologram." He replied while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"With the mindset of a human. All I'm saying Ensign is that I could be of help to you with regards to how humans interact in personal matters." He gave Vorik a hard stare before continuing: "Do you understand what I'm trying to say Ensign?"

Vorik sighed out loud and contemplated him for a moment before replying. "I take it you state this because you are aware of my regard for Ensign Ramirez."

"I suspected it." The doctor replied.  
Vorik nodded. "I find that she has qualities which are suitable in a mate."

The doctor's eyes grew wide. "Wha.. uh.. err.. Ensign, how long have you and Christina known each other?"

But before he could answer, Christina came in, a wide smile on her face as she looked at the two of them. Then she looked at the table and her smile grew wider. "Who brought this? Was Neelix here?"

Vorik's expression grew hard at her assumption and he walked away from the doctor and pulled up a chair next to where she was now sitting.  
"I brought it from the mess hall, but Neelix did tell me to notify you of his coming to visit later this evening. I will be accompanying him."  
She smiled at him, the expression causing him to experience pleasure. "Thank you Vorik." She whispered. "It's exactly what I wanted to eat."  
"Yes, I had remembered that you ordered these exact items some time ago when we were dining together." The doctor watched at how both Christina and Vorik looked at one another. Perhaps in this particular case Vorik could handle things himself without assistance after all. Christina seemed like an agreeable, and kind person who would probably steer him in the right direction should he falter with his social skills.

"Well; I'll just be in my lab then." The doctor said when he realized nobody was paying attention to him. He noted that they were still conversing and didn't even look up as he walked away.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"He did what?" Lira exclaimed while sitting in front of her console. Christina had finally been released from sickbay and they were assigned to work during the same shift for that day.

"Like I told you, look." She walked over to Lira and mimicked the same hand motions Vorik had done to her when she was still in sickbay.

Lira was grinning from ear to ear and at one point let out a yelp: "Oooo Christina that's hot!"  
Christina rolled her eyes. "You find hand fumbling hot?"  
"The way you did it yeah; do it again!" Christina pulled away from her and walked back to her station. "I'm not really sure what that means though. It felt really nice and it was weird how I could feel a deep sense of pleasure that was not my own. Or maybe it's some kind of Vulcan healing technique.."  
Lira's eyes shot up. "You think you turned him on?"  
"There's no way." Christina said dryly.  
"Why do you keep insisting he's not interested in you? He was the one that rescued you, arrived at sickbay almost as soon as I did, and from what Neelix tells me he doesn't want the two of you together unless he's present as well.  
"Me and Neelix?" Christina exclaimed disbelievingly.  
"Why not? You guys are buddy buddies, probably thinks he'll steal you away."  
"You're crazy." Christina said as she shook her head.

"Enough about me though, how are you and Brian?"

"Fine, we're going to that concert tonight, they're going to be playing Mozart."

"I know I saw the program; they'll be playing Symphony No. 25 in G minor, that is one of my absolute favorites."

"That's great! You're going too? You can come with Brian and I"

"I told Vorik I would accompany him, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we double up."

"SEE! And you say he's not interested in you!"

"How do I know he doesn't just see me as a friend?"

"Oh Sweetie." She said in a condescending manner. "Vulcan or not, he's still a man. Men are men, no matter what species, and we all know what they want." She winked and smiled at her, causing Christina to blush and look away.

"What are you going to wear?" Lira asked.

"I haven't thought about it, the program said 'it is customary to wear black for such occasions' so I guess I'll wear a black dress."

"What are you going to do with your hair?"

"I don't.."  
"That settles it, I'm coming over to your quarters to do your hair."

"What is your obsession with my hair?" Christina exclaimed.

"You want him to be putty in your hands or not?"

Lira followed through and arrived at Christina's quarter's almost immediately after their shift had ended, she brought with her a gigantic duffle bag that caused the floor to tremble when she set it down.

"I didn't know you were moving in Lira." She said as she looked at the size of the bag.

"I figured I might as well do your make up too. I brought my things as well, no sense in rushing back to my quarters. Did you talk to Vorik?"  
"Yes, he said he was alright with all of us going together but I can't help but get the feeling that he was hesitant about it."  
"That's because he wants you all to himself sweetie, seriously; where would you be without my guidance?  
Don't worry though, once the concert ends I'll drag Brian somewhere and he can have you all to himself."

"This is all very overwhelming" Christina said as she sat down. Lira immediately pulled out a brush and started attacking her hair. "Don't worry, once I'm done; he'll wet his pants when he sees you… Speaking of which you don't think he's going to show up in his uniform do you?"

"If he read the section about wearing black, which I'm sure he did; he'll probably show up in black."

"Alright; let's get down to business!" Lira exclaimed as she pulled out all the supplies from her bag, Christina's eyes grew wide in shock, suddenly not so sure if this had been a good idea.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"I'm done. Take a look at yourself in the mirror; you won't believe it's you. I'm going to work on myself now."

Christina got up and slowly made her way towards the mirror on her dresser, her eyes went wide when she saw her reflection and she gasped out loud, moving her hands to cover her face but then thought the better of it and simply gawked at herself. "Oh. My. God. LIRA! There is no way in hell I can face him! He probably won't even recognize me!"

"See?" She called out from the bathroom. "He is going to shit when he sees you!"

She had to hand it to Lira, she was good. The black dress was an elegant off the shoulder dress with sleeves up to mid arm. It was modest, just past the knees, but form fitting to accentuate her curves. She wore a sheer fabric shawl over the dress.  
Bajor apparently had magical accessories because in no time; Christina's hair had gone from the plain waves to beautiful shiny curls that were held up halfway at the side by a black-rhinestone comb and cascaded down her back. Lira had gone with the smoky look for her eyes and the dark makeup made her light brown eyes look like amber; extremely striking in contrast to her long, dark lashes. Then a simple pink gloss on her lips to not overpower the eye makeup. Lira wanted to make sure that the focus would be on Christina's eyes. For what reason, she wasn't sure, she had learned a long time ago not to ask questions and simply go with her flow.  
Christina was not a big fan of heels but Lira was able to convince her to go with some classic strappy 2inch stilettos. She walked around in them for a while, making sure they were comfortable enough and decided they would do.

Lira had also handed her a satin black wristlet with a fake diamond button that opened it. "What's in this thing you gave me "Lira?"

"Tissues, lip gloss, and hand sanitizer." She yelled from the bathroom again.

Christina sat down as she looked at herself, still not believing the reflection looking back at her; she could see how the dress moved in time with her nervous breaths. She took one deep breath and exhaled loudly, closing her eyes and willing herself to calm down. She doubted that Vorik would be going through so much trouble right now, hell; he probably was going to show up in his uniform just like Lira said he would!

At that moment Lira came out, looking stunning in her lacey black dress, it too was modest and form fitting, not off the shoulders as Christina's was which caused her to frown.  
"Why am I showing more skin than you?"

She lifted a brow towards Christina. "You really need me to answer that?"

Christina huffed and got up from her chair.

"Well; It's show time."

"You bet." Lira said with a wink.

**So? How do you think Vorik is going to react? AND! Do you think he's going to show up in his uniform, or not?**


	12. Chapter 12

**You may have heard that Tropical Storm Debby is lashing Florida with high winds and non-stop rain and thunderstorms; guess who's in the middle of all that lovely mess… Go ahead; take a guess :o)  
Well, that just means that I am trapped in my house with nothing to do except maybe write another chapter; hope you enjoy.**

Vorik was standing outside of the mess hall. The plan was to meet there so they could all go together to the concert. It had taken more time than usual to come up with his present attire. He wore long black slacks and a long sleeved silk dress shirt that of course was buttoned all the way to the top. He had initially debated whether or not to wear a jacket over it and at first was not going to, thinking it would be overly formal but then decided it would be better to look his best.

A few seconds after his arrival, a flaxen haired Bajoran male arrived, a glass of burgundy liquid in his hand. He looked up at Vorik and offered him a smile.  
"You must be Ensign Vorik."

He nodded. "I am."

"I'm Brian, Lira's date for tonight; I take it the ladies haven't arrived yet."

"They are running forty six seconds late so far."

Brian smiled and looked down the hall to see if they were nearby.  
"Women sometimes like to arrive fashionably late."

Vorik raised a brow. "How is being late fashionable."

"It's a scam; plain and simple. They purposely arrive late to build up tension so that when they do finally arrive you can marvel at them in their attire."

"I do not see the logic in that." Vorik said honestly.

Brian smiled before taking another sip. "You'll see what I mean. Look behind you."

Vorik turned around; walking towards them came what was probably the most stunning female specimen he had ever seen before in his life. He didn't even see Lira who was standing right next to her; all he saw was Christina. She had arranged herself in a manner he had never seen before and yet it complemented her extremely well.

She was looking at him now and her previous flustered appearance melted away into a smile that brought him great pleasure. Her eyes traveled from his feet all the way to his chest and then his face; he could see the blush already forming on her cheeks, and her eyes taking on a look of something akin to desire. He felt his heart rate accelerate and his mouth became dry. Even though she was still a few feet away, he could now smell her sweet perfume; he took a deep breath to savor it.  
Her attire exposed the glowing skin and well defined collarbone extending all the way to her shoulder; she had such beautiful skin. Skin that he knew would be soft beneath his touch, he took another deep breath as she approached him; he so desperately wanted to touch her. His hands opened and closed at his sides as she looked at him with her wide eyes that looked like amber; eyes that he couldn't stop peering into.

"You look very handsome Vorik." She said in a whisper that only he could hear.

"And you are…" He couldn't even think straight, he couldn't stop looking into her eyes, eyes that made him feel as if he had found home and wanted to stay there forever, and then he was suddenly withdrawn when He felt a pat on his back.

"We'll be late for the concert Ensign" Brian said loudly.

Vorik closed his eyes then, and Christina swore that she heard him growl.

"Yes; of course." He finally replied. He signaled with his hands in a "Ladies first" fashion towards Christina. She smiled and walked ahead of him, not knowing that he was subtly admiring what the dress did for her from behind. Lira and Brian were holding hands in front of them; she so wanted to do the same with Vorik but knew that the subject of PDA was probably something absolutely prohibited for Vulcans.

They arrived when the musicians were tuning their instruments and most of the room was unfortunately already full. Lira turned to Christina and whispered; "We're going to have to split up, see you when the concert ends." Lira nodded and turned away with Brian.

Vorik looked over at her and bent down slightly to whisper in her ear, the feel of his breath causing a tingle to run down her spine. "If you would take hold of my arm, I will lead us to an area that has seating and an agreeable view."

She didn't even answer, she quickly linked her arm around his and let him follow her towards the back of the room. As he had said; there was nothing obstructing their view and almost immediately after they sat down the lights dimmed and music started playing. She realized that she hadn't let go of his arm and he certainly didn't do or say anything to change that fact so she kept it there. The heat that radiated off him was nice, combine that with the music and it was making her feel weightless.

Five minutes into the song she could feel large fingers encircle hers and she quickly looked at him to see that his face remained completely expressionless as if nothing was amiss but then looked down at their fingers and saw him making slow movements.  
She really didn't understand why he was so into the hand thing but she went along with it until she saw that he took a deep breath and suddenly got up out of his chair and left.

She watched with alarm as he got up and immediately went after him. "Vorik!" She called out to him in the empty corridor. "Vorik what's the matter? Are you alright?"

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes; hers grew wider with fear that something really was wrong with him.

"Come on, we're going to sickbay right now." She said as she tried to grab his hand.

"No.. Christina." He said as he stood before her. "Christina; I want to take this opportunity to declare kunat so'lik; my desire to be your mate; or as humans understand it: I am proposing marriage; do you accept?"

Her eyes grew wide like saucers. She tried to speak but found that no words would emerge from her lips. She desired Vorik; wanted him, but this was extremely sudden and unexpected; before this she wasn't even sure that he even liked her as more than a friend. He saw her reaction and the memory of how B'Elanna had reacted came into the forefront of his mind. Perhaps this had been a mistake; maybe he should've taken the doctor up on his offer and spoken to him in regards to human interpersonal relationships; but it was too late for that now, and he was bracing himself for her rejection; yet it never came.

She simply smiled and took his hand as she said: "Come with me; we're going to talk about this."

They went back down to the mess hall where it was completely empty as Neelix had closed down for the night. They sat down at their usual table and he abruptly let go of her hand.

"I see that with humans there is never a yes or no answer."

"Vorik; before now I didn't even know that you were interested in me as a perspective mate. This is an extremely important decision that is never to be taken lightly by human standards and that is why we court with someone first and establish a romantic relationship before marriage even comes up on the forefront."

"How could you not know that I would consider you as a candidate? We spend almost all of our extracurricular time together, and partake in various activities that are considered common ground between the two of us. Given our activities it is obvious that things would eventually progress between us but it would be inappropriate if it were done without us being bonded."

"Vorik, what activities in particular are you referring to?"

He blinked hard a few times, to her it seemed like he was almost embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Our mutual display of affection via touch." He ground out as he crossed his arms in front of him.

"Wait, are you talking about the hand thing?"

He turned to her with a sharp look on his face; "That 'hand' thing that you are referring to is how Vulcans display affection; it comes close to what you all refer to as: 'Kissing'."

She gasped audibly and lowered her head. "Vorik; I didn't know."

"How could you not suspect?"

"Vorik, sometimes humans touch as a form of reassurance, or friendly gesture; I'm sure you've probably stumbled upon how humans kiss."

He still had his arms crossed in front of him as he replied: "I have; you all display everything in public it seems."

She was going to let that slide because of the given situation, but normally that comment might've rubbed her in the wrong way.  
Instead she pulled her chair next to his and gently cradled his face with her hands; seeing that he immediately unfolded his arms and was under the spell of her eyes. "This is how we show affection." She leant forward and kissed him softly on the lips. He of course didn't respond so she let her fingers graze against his skin, traveling all the way up to his ears where she gently caressed them all the way to the tip. She felt his intake of breath before he pulled away from her.

Seeing his rejection was now hurting her; it seemed like a vicious circle of want and unobtainability.

"Vorik; I do see you as a perspective mate, but you must understand that this is moving too fast for me. Wont you consider courting me first?"

"Why?" he whispered softly. I already know that we would complement each other well; it doesn't seem like a logical choice. Please Christina; accept my offer and be my mate."

"Do you love me?" She asked directly.

She saw his eyes grow wide and he even pulled away from her slightly.

"See?"  
She said as she sat back against her chair. "Most humans marry for love, not just because of compatibility. I refuse to marry unless I am in love and the person in turn is in love with me. We can court and see how things progress between us; otherwise I will have to decline your offer."

For a long time he didn't say anything and simply kept his arms folded in front of him while looking off into the distance as if thinking.

Christina sighed and got up out of her chair. "I don't expect you to answer me now; take some time to think about it. I agree that we would make a good pair; but these are my terms."  
And with that, she turned and walked away from the mess hall; her feelings and emotions in complete disarray.


	13. Chapter 13

The evening had not gone as he had planned at all.

This was the second time that a marriage proposal of his had gone sour, and although Christina's demands were perfectly rational by human standards; his Vulcan mind could not comprehend why she had refused.  
He knew that she wanted him, she had said as much and he could feel it via their touch. He had felt her desire for him tonight and it was almost too much for him to bear, which was why he had to leave before he did anything foolish.

The subject of love was not discussed amongst Vulcans and unlike humans, was not the sole reason for entering a marriage state. Love was something that came later during marriage or not at all and either one was an acceptable outcome; not at all required.

He had never allowed himself to delve so deeply into that specific topic but he knew that he could possess such ability given the appropriate individual, and he had a strong feeling that it would not take long for said emotion to develop on his behalf toward Christina. The whole situation seemed extremely risky for what if she would come to the conclusion later on that she didn't return said sentiment?  
The whole ordeal seemed so much more complicated than it needed it be and while a small part of him wanted to walk away from everything and just return to his solitary life; the larger part of him knew that that was simply not an option for him anymore.  
He had come to know a fascinating, kind, female who was simply asking for more time in his presence without a commitment until she felt ready, and yet it still bothered him greatly.

He begrudgingly admitted that he needed to seek out advice on the matter and therefore once he was in the turbo lift, instead of instructing it to take him to his quarters, he said: "Deck 5, sickbay"

OoOoOoOoOoO

If Christina had gotten 4 hours of sleep it was a lot. Even as she woke, she was reminded immediately of what had occurred the night before and the familiar pain began to ache in her chest once again. It had not been a dream; it really did happen and the ball was now in his court, and that's what was driving her mad.  
What if he simply said no?

She was grateful for the fact that she and Lira had a different shift today. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to retell the occurrence of the night before without falling apart in front of her.

It would be so easy to give in to what he wanted, the horrible pain would go away and they could both be together in more intimate ways but this would not do at all. For a race of beings who were so calculated and precise on everything they did, their concept of marriage really seemed screwed up to her. She wanted to talk to him, have him explain to her how they did things on Vulcan and for what purpose, but after the night before, she didn't think she was going to get an answer and if she did; it was probably going to be one she didn't agree with. He seemed so completely closed about everything. It was as if she were speaking to a totally different person and it was either only 'all or nothing at all'.

She tried to do things to keep her mind off of what had happened but it would always surface.  
When it was time for her shift to commence she opened her messages folder and saw at least five from Lira and yet none from him. She sighed as she closed the folder and began her work.

It was time for her mid-day break so she headed down to the mess hall for some much needed nourishment. Neelix of course came over to her right away and sat in front of her. "Geez, you look horrible Christina."

"Thanks Neelix, it's good to see you too." She replied while looking at the table in a put off manner.

"How come Vorik isn't here with you?"

She sighed and continued to look down at the table.

"Oooooh, trouble in paradise?"

"You can say that. We sort of had a disagreement on something, but it's a fundamental disagreement and I really don't know if things are going to work out."

He lowered his head and sighed. "I am so sorry to hear you say that Christina."  
She shrugged and looked off to the side where there were a young human couple, laughing together.

"Sometimes these things happen for a reason I guess."

"I know that this is still a fresh wound for you Christina so I won't pry as to what occurred but I will just off handedly state that I think you two make a good pair and even though I don't understand what you're all going through; I sincerely hope that you can work it out. Vorik is a man of logic and he'll eventually come around"

"That's part of the problem though! The damn logic is blinding him of common sense!"

"Are you guys going to talk it out at least? I know him not to be the kind of person that leaves things up in the air; I have a strong feeling that things will work out; just keep positive!"

Christina nodded. "Thanks Neelix; I hope so too. Have you seen him at all today?"

"Nope; he hasn't been by at all today, and he usually stops by for breakfast . You should eat something though; you don't look so good."

"I will, I'll just go replicate something quick and be on my way."

"Alright, remember that if there's anything you need; I'm always here."

"Thanks Neelix." She said as she gave him a small smile.

OoOoOoOoOoO

The following day had not gone much better, she still felt pained over what happened but at least now she was somewhat starting to come to terms that whatever did occur would in fact be for the best. She sat down at her station and again opened her messages to find three more threatening messages from Lira. While she was reading them she happened to barge in a passionate rant.

"What the heck Christina? Why are you avoiding me? Is this how you…. Oh…" She said as she saw the look on her face.

"Oh no." She said softly. "What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Christina replied flatly.

"Yeah you do; you have to, it's the only way you'll get release. Ohh! don't let it eat you alive; tell me what happened."

So she did, all the while Lira was a flurry of emotions ranging from flirty to excited, and finally to angry.

"What the heck? You guys haven't even known each other for a month and he's already trying to.. Oh.. wait.. I see what this is about."

"Do you?" Christina asked in an exaggerative manner. "Cause I sure don't. "

"I should've known; I mean he looked as if he was about to eat you when we arrived, and before Brian interrupted you guys, it's as if he was trying to find your soul through your eyes.  
I told you the eye makeup was going to hypnotize him; I just didn't think... He's got it bad girl; and you probably had him so worked up that he simply turned to what he knows. If you're bonded, there's no limit to what he can do to you whereas now he has to refrain and be.. you know; Vulcan."

Christina closed her eyes and was about to speak but nothing came out. She ran her hand over her face. "Why does this have to be so complicated?"

"I told you before; after all is said and done; he's a man. It's no excuse though. We're not on Vulcan and you're a human. He should respect your wishes and wait until you're ready even if it doesn't make sense to him."

"That's the same conclusion that I keep coming to." Christina replied sadly.

"Well; I really should go now, but we'll talk later, maybe get Neelix to make us some special drinks and those mushroom and gruyere cheese quiches you like so much."

"I would like that a lot." Christina replied, smiling up at her for the first time during their conversation.

Lira left and she returned to her messages and was about to delete what she didn't need when a new message appeared; it was from Vorik.

She felt her heart speed up and even her vision doubled a bit as she nervously clicked on his message.  
She opened it to find the following contents:

"_Christina,_

_I find that we cannot leave our present situation as it is. Please meet with me at 1700 hours in holodeck 12a._

_Vorik_"

And that was it. Why in the world he wanted to meet in a holodeck; she wasn't sure but come ten minutes before, she was there. She had been an absolute mess up until she finally arrived at the holodeck.

She could hear his footsteps as he approached and looked up from where she stood. He blinked and looked down once he saw her. "You are early."  
She nodded, but didn't say anything. He continued to look at her as if trying to gage what she was thinking but she was completely expressionless. She wanted so badly to walk over to him and hug him, or do something; anything to make the pain stop. He noticed that she looked out of sorts and there were dark shadow underneath her eyes leading him to believe that she had probably not slept well. He felt slightly guilty for this.

"I wanted to meet here because I believe that it might help serve my purpose with regards to us."

She again didn't say anything and simply nodded.

"Computer; initiate Earth Greek Island Sunset."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at his command; he looked at her and gave her a small upturn of his lips as the scenery around them changed once he led her inside. They were standing on crystal white sand overlooking beautiful turquoise waters. Off towards the east were many small kiosk and she could distinctly smell food cooking and sounds of music playing.

"Vorik." She finally said. "What is all this?"

He allowed a small smile as he peered into her eyes. "Our first official date."

He leaned forward and tried to initiate a human kiss, it wasn't very good but Christina was over the moon with joy at his proclamation; she would have to teach him proper kissing techniques later on, for now; she held his face as she returned the kiss with fervor. He quickly searched for her hand and began his assault on her fingers immediately.

"I missed you; I was so fearful I would lose you." She heard herself say.  
She smiled warmly at him, feeling that pressure in her chest had vanished; she encircled her arms around his neck.

"I do not take pleasure in prolonged absence from you. I will compromise for our sake." He replied in a husky voice.

She cradled his face with her hands. "You have no idea how happy you've made me." She said as she leaned forward and kissed him again. She continued the slow movement she knew he liked and smirked slightly when she saw that he had closed his eyes and applied more pressure against her hand. He leaned his forehead against hers as they continued the hand movements for some time. She gave him one final soft peck on his lips before she slowly pulled away.

"Christina, I hope that we will always be able to work out our differences in such a manner." His voice was like silk, and it made her stomach flip.  
"We will." She replied as she tip toed and snuck another kiss from him. She was really looking forward to teaching him the art of human kissing.

"So!" She asked as she turned and marveled at their surroundings. "What are we going to do on our first date?"

He raised a brow as she linked her arm around his. "There are various options. We can walk along the shores, or visit the kiosk to our right, or simply find a place to sit and enjoy the scenery around us. At 1900 hours however, we have a reservation to attend to."

"Reservation?" Where?"

"Mr. Neelix has seen fit to accommodate me in a request I have made. We will have the mess hall to ourselves and I believe one of the items on the menu will be baked ziti."

She gasped audibly. "Baked ziti is my."  
"Favorite." He finished for her. "Yes; I remember you stating as much when you were still recuperating in sickbay."

"Vorik.." She replied breathlessly. He graced her with another small smile and took her by the hand. "Come; I believe this module has been programmed with various marine life and artistic sceneries that I know you will find satisfactory."

But satisfactory could not even begin to describe Christina's feelings towards their first official date. It was a good thing that they'd have many more, and Vorik began to understand that this courting business that humans partook in wasn't such an incomprehensible action after all.

END OF PART I

**There is going to a sequel to this story where the relationship between Christina and Vorik further develops. Other things will take place as well so stay tuned! Thanks again to those who took the time to review!**


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